The First Freelancer
by literalsamweir
Summary: Lillian Yang has lived a long, tough life. She's been through so many battles that she lost count, and she's even died once. Follow the story of the broken girl that became one of the toughest women anyone has ever met. Disclaimer: I don't own Red Vs. Blue or any of it's characters, just Lily. Rated T for safety and plus it's RvB guys, c'mon.
1. Chapter 1

My name is Lillian Yang, most people just call me Lily. Well, those who knew me before the war did. But that's a story for another time.

For now, my name is Lily.

I was a normal girl, at least what I considered normal. When I was a baby, I was given up for adoption, and I got adopted when I was about 5 or 6-I can't really remember. They were a nice family, they were newlyweds and wanted children, but found out they couldn't have any. So they adopted me.

I remember just moving in with them, they were sweet and caring, trying to make me feel accepted because I was shy. I liked living with them for a while. They spoiled me and treated me like royalty. It wasn't until about a year of living with them did they show their true colors.

My 'mother', Megan, was a short, beautiful woman who always needed everything to be perfect. She was the perfect little housewife that was a perfect match for her husband, Steven.

My 'father', was quite the man. He worked for this company that manufactured spaceships, so you can imagine how much money he made. He wasn't an engineer or anything, he was a boss. Not necessarily _the_ boss, but….just a boss.

I guess Steven and Megan wanted children to show off. Since Steven was a big part of his company, he was interviewed and liked to show off everything in his perfect life. Megan and Steven had decided one day that adopting a child would be such a huge boost in their social aspects, showing the world how nice and selfless they were. Of course, I didn't find out until much later.

One day, when I was in the second grade, I remember coming home super proud because I got a B+ on a test. Math was a subject I was really struggling in at the time, so finding out I passed with a good grade made me very excited to show my mother.

I jumped off the bus and ran all the way home, a wide grin on my face the entire time. I walked in and called out to my adoptive mother. It took me quite some getting used to, calling her 'mom'. I eventually got the hang of it but, I didn't really call her that for long.

Megan came out of the kitchen, flour on her apron and a sweet smile as she saw her 'perfect little angel.' She asked me about my day, and we talked until I was finally able to show her my test.

That moment completely changed my view on Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer for the rest of my life.

The look on her face was unrecognizable. Megan's face went from smiling to frowning in mere seconds, something I'd never seen on her before. She laughed nervously, gripping the paper so tight it crinkled as she began stuttering out a question.

"Wh-why did you get… a-a B?" She asked, grimacing rather than smiling.

My own smile faltered. My seven-year-old mind couldn't comprehend why my mother-the sweetest person on the planet-sounded disappointed. Wasn't she proud of me?

"Um, well, it's hard… and-and I did my best? I thought you and St-Dad-would be proud of me," I mumbled out, utterly confused. Megan laughed bitterly before ripping up the paper. I was shocked, and kind of scared. I'd _never_ seen her act like that before. Unfortunately, it wasn't the last.

"I will _not_ tolerate a B in this house young lady!" She screamed at me, for the first time ever.

I broke, tears spilling out of my eyes and sobs wracking my skinny body. "I don't-" I tried to speak but it all came to an end when she slapped me.

I was glad I had decided to keep my own last name, rather than change it to theirs. Because in that moment I realized I was _not_ a part of this family, and I would _never_ be. If I could even call it a family.

The abuse gradually got worse overtime. It didn't happen right after, though. When Megan slapped me I stayed quiet and brought home straight A's for the rest of my elementary school years.

It was about eighth grade when thing began to fall apart. Steven lost his job. The company was bought by an even bigger company, and they got rid of everyone they deemed useless to the renovating. Steven had been the first on the list.

My mother, was furious. She blamed Steven of course, and always complained about how she would have to get a job to support them. After she got one, she was always cranky about something.

Steven never got a job after that. He used all the money they had saved up on alcohol. It was only a little at first, but he bought all the expensive stuff, until the point where he could only afford a 6 pack of beer.

It was around that time when Megan found out that Steven was cheating, too. I had known for a while, but I never said anything in fear Megan would hit me, or they'd get a divorce. I didn't care how bad our lives were, I was never going back to the orphanage.

Steven would bring home women he used to work with, or those who cost less money an hour. Megan didn't really seem to care, she just began doing the same thing. She didn't care anymore about her 'perfect' family, and all the money. She only cared about getting revenge. Every time Steven brought home a new girl, she'd go out and sleep with someone else. It became a gross part of their routine, and I was the one who suffered from it.

And that's how I grew up. In a broken home where I was to be the perfect daughter who never did anything wrong, while the only form of love my parents showed was fucking some random stranger.

During high school, I did some things I'm not very proud of. I hid all of my hurt and suffering behind a pretty smile and some cheap perfume. I wore very revealing clothes, and never went a week without a boyfriend. Though, I wouldn't really call them 'boyfriends' I guess, just whatever guy I was sleeping with that week. We'd fool around for a bit, they'd begin to like me, and I bailed. I guess I was scared. I was scared of the commitment, and the relationship. I didn't want to turn out like Megan and Steven. I wasn't going to.

Having sex was the only way I knew how to show affection, I guess. My parents never showed any love to me when I was younger, and the only thing I can remember is all the sex they had, with other people. So, that's the way I did it.

I didn't know how to hold hands, or hug and kiss. I didn't know how to love somebody, and I sure as hell didn't know what it was like to be loved by somebody. That all changed eventually though. When I met David.

But that's part of that story for later.

In high school, I decided I wanted to join the military. Space travel had been abundant for years now, and everyone was always going off to fight space aliens, or look for another planet to inhabit. I knew I wanted to get away from my shitty life. I wanted to get the farthest away from my parents that I could. What better way to do that than to travel to space?

Megan was completely against the idea of me joining the army of some other planet.

"You spent all your life getting straight A's, and you're gonna go waste it on some stupid alien fight," she'd complained when I first told her.

"It's not just aliens, Megan, it's-" She cut me off with a slap.

"I'm your mother," She growled, and that was the end of that conversation.

But that's pretty much how all of our conversation went. We'd argue to the point where Megan would have to shut me up by doing something physical, and Steven would yell at us through a drunken slur until he passed out. It got to the point where I was almost never home. I'd stay over for a few nights at a friends house before coming home for a few hours, then staying at a different house for the rest of the week.

I finally left the summer after graduation. When I did, I was seventeen, but I don't think age was a really big deal in space. I had unofficially moved out a few months before graduation. I stayed with the longest boyfriend I've ever had until that point (I really didn't want to be with him, I just needed a place to stay). His name was Charles, and he was absolutely heart broken when I left for the rocket that would be flying all cadets to the military space station.

"You're leaving me?" Charles whimpered, as I hurriedly shoved all my belongings into a suitcase. I zipped it up and sighed, looking up at him.

Charles was two years younger than me, barely 15. He stayed with his uncle who was literally never home, so we basically lived by ourselves. I didn't want to leave him, but I needed to go. The kid was sweet, and he was surprisingly good in bed, but I had to leave.

"I'm not really leaving _you,_ Charles. I mean I'm leaving, yes, but not because of you," I reasoned, wincing as he cried in relief.

"Oh thank goodness, I don't know what I'd do if you broke up with me, I'd probably kill myself," he laughed, wiping his eyes and he hugged me.

"No, um, Charlie..." I sighed, really not wanting to say this, "I _am_ breaking up with you, just not because I don't, um, love you," I mumbled.

Charles stiffened and backed up, looking at me as his tears filled with eyes again. His lip quivered and I barely let out a sigh before he started sobbing, gripping tightly onto my arm as he begged me not to go. I felt pretty bad, Charles was really nice and I knew I was going to miss him. I think my eyes filled up with tears, too.

"G-get off of me, Charles," I pushed him back and put my hands on his shoulders. I forced my watery grey eyes to look into his own, very watery brown eyes.

"Charles, you have to understand that I'm not leaving because of you. You've known for a long time that I've wanted to do this, and you have to understand that this is hard for me to," my voice died down to a whisper as I finished the sentence. It had just sunk in that I would actually miss him. I mean, he was still young, and inexperienced, but he was the best boyfriend I'd ever had.

Charlie finally seemed to comprehend what I was saying, because he wiped his eyes and looked down. "What am I supposed to tell my friends when my super hot senior girlfriend stops giving me rides to school?" he pouted. I chuckled and ran a hand through my hair, shaking my head.

"If it means that much to you, Charles, you can tell all your friends that I got a job and had to work the morning shift," I teased, smiling at him. He chuckled before frowning again.

"What about after school?"

I sighed, "Look, Charles, I'm no good for you anyway. You're 15, you're gonna be a sophomore. I just graduated. It never would've worked, babe."

"But...but I love you, Lily," more watery eyes.

"No, no you don't. Goodbye Char-" I began walking to the door.

"No, no Lily wait, just let me talk-" he tried to stop me.

"Goodbye, Charles," I wouldn't let him, I had to do this.

"No please, Lillian. Lils, wait ple-" the door slammed shut.

I never heard from Charles Palomo again.

A week later I found myself at the San Francisco International Airport. I was flying to Texas where I would train for a few months before being launched up into the International Space Military Academy, where I'll enlist in the UNSC. I'll admit, I was a little nervous. I'd never been to space before, even though humans have been exploring it for hundreds of years now. But ever since the Great War, I've realized just how much fighting there would really be, and how dangerous this is.

 _Don't you dare back out now,_ I thought, _you've been waiting your whole life for this._

 _I was ready._


	2. Chapter 2

It felt like I was in the check-in line for hours, when I knew it had only been about 10 minutes. Nerves were wracking through my body, everything my adoptive parents have ever said about my choice in applying for the UNSC came racing through my mind. What if Megan was right? This is stupid, I shouldn't be here, I should go back to Charles, he'll make me some of his amazing Mac 'n Cheese.

 _No, shut up. You aren't backing down now, you can't!_

You're right, I can't.

 _You're darn right you're right._

What?

"Excuse me, miss?" My head snapped up and my eyes landed on the lady behind the check-in counter. She looked a little concerned, and I smiled embarrassingly, walking to the counter.

She asked for my information and I placed my suitcase on the countertop. That's all I had. Seventeen years living in this ridiculous place and all I had to show for it was one measly suitcase carrying all of my things.

"Are you enlisted?" The woman asked me. She was interesting to listen to. Nearly everything she said sounded sarcastic, but she also sounded robotic, as if she was forced to asked the same exact questions to every person.

I nodded and handed her my I.D. and ticket, along with the card that held my number and important military information. Apparently it was a rule now that everyone enlisted had to get a certain badge number so they could properly track everyone, since we'd be in space. I assumed it was in case we died in the middle of deep space or something, people could come find us.

The lady smiled at me, it was obviously fake though, since she frowned at my paperwork right after.

"I'll be right back," She mumbled, and walked away.

I sighed and leaned against my suitcase. I could hear the people behind me complaining and whining, and I just rolled my eyes, equally irritated. _Of course it'd be me._

The woman returned a few seconds later with a tall, dark man. He looked mature and well composed, like he was the boss of something. Just like Steven did before he got fired.

He nodded at the lady and she handed me my papers back, taking my suitcase and putting it on the moving thing behind her. The man motioned for me to follow him, but I hesitated. Was I in some sort of trouble? _Did they find out I won't actually be eighteen for another week?_

The people behind me started complaining even louder and I decided that my fear of them jumping me was greater than the one of the tall man.

* * *

I followed the man as he led me to this secluded area by the baggage claim. I felt like an idiot for following him. I just really hated it when people yelled at me, it usually ended in me crying, and I wasn't trying to burst into frustrated tears in the middle of an airport. But how do I know this man won't try something on me? I'm not usually very nervous around strangers, I can fight for myself and I've had more one night stands then I can count on both hands. But this guy was way too old, and he had a ring on his finger.

 _That's never stopped you before._

Shut up.

"Miss Yang, I presume?" the man asked, causing me to return my attention to him. I nervously nodded, eyes dancing around the room.

"Um, am I in some sort of trouble?" I asked, rubbing my arms. "I just got here, like, an hour ago, and I don't think I did anyth-"

The man cut me off, "No, no, you're not in any sort of trouble, Lillian," he chuckled. "I just want to ask you a few questions."

"Uh, yeah, but who are you? I mean how do you know my name?" I asked suspiciously, my nervousness beginning to die down as I became more alert and defensive.

"Right, where are my manners?" He held up his hands and smiled warmly at me. "My name is Aiden Price, I work very closely with the director of a secret organization. When I looked through your file, I couldn't help but notice all the...disagreements you got in with other students your senior year. About, 53 if I remember correctly. And people like you are-"

"That wasn't _actually_ me, you see, hehe, it's-"

"-exactly what we need in our project."

"Nopleasedon'tsendmebackhomeI-what?" I was completely confused. This was probably the first time anyone hasn't insulted me about what I did in high school.

Aiden chuckled, patting me on my shoulder. "I know you've had a tough life, Lillian. But it doesn't have to be tough anymore. My partner and I can help you in our program."

My heart sank.

They think I must have anger issues or something. Are they like counselors?

"Oh um, thanks Mr. Price, but I'm not interested in spilling out all my problems and trying to get help. I'm just here to join the army. Thanks," I mumbled, turning to walk away before he placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Lillian, I don't think you understand what I'm saying," He smiled softly. "I'm not sending you to a counseling office, you _will_ be in the army. Just under surveillance as we watch you break into some very top secret facilities with some armor enhancements."

I took a step back. Whoa, 'top secret facilities?' ' _Armor enhancements?'_

 _Who the heck would turn that down?!_

Looking back on it now, I wish I had turned it down. But I guess I would've never met all the amazing people I did.

I looked up at Mr. Price, who seemed to sense that I was thinking about agreeing.

"Tell me more about these 'top secret facilities.'"

* * *

Mr. Price left me when I went through security. After he told me a little more about what I'd be doing in his 'secret organization,' he let me on my way. I was told that I'd see him again, but I secretly hoped he'd just leave me alone. It all sounded really cool, but I just wasn't ready for all this. I just enlisted, why would they want me when they could have some super strong and _experienced_ soldier?

I sighed as I passed through security, making my way over to the waiting area by my terminal. I had about an hour before the plane took off, so I decided to kill time by browsing some shops by the waiting area.

I eventually stopped at a coffee shop, hoping to get some so I didn't snooze off before we started loading on the passengers. While in line, I noticed a guy staring at me from the table he shared with another woman. They looked to be a few years older than me, as well as possibly siblings. They both had bleached blonde hair, and light blue eyes. The man was good looking, he was smirking in my direction and nodded his head when we made eye contact. I didn't really pay him much attention until he was standing right next to me.

"Hey, the name's Edward," he smirked down at me, his eyes glittering with mischievousness.

"Hey, Edward," I sighed, staring at him.

His smile faltered slightly at seeing my reaction, but continue grinning at me nonetheless. I was next in line so I attempted to use that as an excuse to walk away, but he just insisted on paying for my coffee.

"So, how do you like your coffee?" Edward asking, grin still plastered onto his pale face.

"Black," I replied, still uninterested.

Edward paid for my coffee and practically dragged me to go sit with him and his sister, who I learned to be Elizabeth.

"Yeah, but don't actually call her Elizabeth," Edward had explained on our way to the table. "She usually goes by Beth, though sometimes I like to call her Liz, just to piss her off," he chuckled.

I smiled awkwardly at Beth, and she just grunted in reply, sipping her coffee.

"So, are you in the UNSC, too? I couldn't help but notice your dog tags," I commented, attempting to make small talk with Beth. Hey, if I was forced to sit with them, I was going to be rude.

Beth nodded and asked me if I was enlisted as well. I replied and we struck up our conversation like that. In the next half hour, I learned that Elizabeth and Edward (who preferred Beth and Ed) were twins and had joined the military a few years ago because it was the only way they could support their family. I ended up sharing a little information about myself as well, which was more than I've ever done in the past year.

When it got closer to boarding time, Beth, Ed, and I decided to sit closer to our terminals. Upon doing so, I realized we were boarding the same plane. It made me pretty excited, at least I'd know some people on my flight.

If only I had known I wouldn't be seeing Ed and Beth on that flight. In fact, it would be a _long_ time until I ever saw them again.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey guys! If you're reading this that means you are reading my story which is super cool! I've written for a while now, but I've finally worked up the courage to actually publish something. Reviews and stuff are always welcome, as well as constructive criticism. However, downright rudeness will most likely be ignored and deleted. So, that's about it! I've gotten some feed back already which is suuuuuuper cool, thanks so much you guys! I really hope you enjoy the rest of my work! Also, Charles from the first chapter actually isn't Palomo from RvB. It may not make sense now, but I had this kinda lame idea and it will tie into the story later on.**

 **Also sorry this chapter is shorter, I'm super tired and busy but it's the weekend, so expect an update tomorrow! (Actually, don't take my word on that, expect it by most likely Sunday.)**

 **~~Sam :-))**


	3. Chapter 3

"Flight 274B is now boarding. All disabled personel may begin boarding the flight."

I sighed and looked over to Ed and Beth, who were sitting to the left of me. Ed finished off his coffee and tossed it into the garbage can a few feet away from us.

"All military personnel may now board the flight," the lady called over the intercom.

"Well, this is us," Ed sighed, standing up and grabbing his carry on bag. Beth and I stood up as well, and the three of us began walking to the small line next to the desk. Beth stretched and groaned, having been woken up from her short nap.

"You guys sitting close to me?" I asked, pulling out my ticket.

"Fortunately," Ed smiled, taking out his ticket as well, "we're in the row in front of you."

"Awesome," I replied, handing my ticket to the attendant. She scanned it and frowned, before scanning it again.

"This isn't right," she mumbled to herself before looking up at me. "Excuse me, miss? You're going to have to stand off to the side for me," she said, motioning me over.

"Um, what?" I asked, obviously confused. She led me to an area on the other side of the desk before going back to scan tickets.

"It's okay, Lily, we'll wait with you," Ed reassured, smiling at me. I felt thankful, but Beth ruined my mood when she glared at her twin. He, however, elbowed her and continued smiling. Beth yelped then grumbled something about agreeing before starting to walk over to me.

"I'm sorry miss, I'm going to have to ask you to please board the plane now," The attendant said to Beth.

Beth shrugged and began walking back before Ed glared at her again. She glared back, but stopped walking nonetheless.

"Please, board the plane now, miss. You as well, sir, you're holding up the line," the attendant seemed a little panicky.

I sighed, "Just go, guys. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon."

We eventually did, just not as soon as I had hoped.

When the plane finished boarding, the attendant locked the terminal doors and asked me to follow her.

I was thinking about how today was the wrong day for me to fly out, when we arrived at a much smaller terminal.

"You will be taking this flight, instead," the attendant smiled, spreading her hand toward the door.

I gave a fake, sarcastic smile back, "No, I think I'm gonna go back to the other flight."

" _No_ , you will be taking _this_ flight, with orders straight from the Director," she smiled through clenched teeth.

'The Director?' Now why did that seem so familiar?

"Ah, Ms. Yang, just in time," a familiar voice behind me stated.

I turned around and spotted Aiden Price, the same man who had offered me to join his program. The same guy who mentioned a 'director.'

"Oh, hello Counselor, Ms. Yang is prepared to board the flight," the attendant smiled, going back to a sweet, seemingly robotic voice.

Wait, is this the same woman who took my suitcase from earlier?

"Thank you, Phyllis, you may go now," Mr. Price smiled. She nodded once and walked off.

"Are you ready to board?" He asked, taking my arm, and giving me no time to answer.

* * *

"Will someone please tell me what all of this is about?" I demanded, obviously irritated.

Mr. Price, or the 'Counselor,' as he asked me to call him, brought me onto a private jet with no explanation why. He smiled at me and leaned forward in his chair.

"Lillian, you must believe me, we mean no harm to you. We're only doing what we agreed we would do," he explained.

What the fuck?

"Agreed? _Agreed?!_ I didn't _agree_ to any of this shit! You're basically _kidnapping_ me!" I screeched, and I'll admit, my voice cracked a bit.

The Counselor chuckled and leaned back once more in his seat. "I believe we discussed it earlier? When I told you about my...organization."

I sighed and narrowed my eyes at him, "Oh, you _manipulative little fuc-_ "

"Counselor, I hope you aren't trying to scare off our first candidate, are you?" A voice with a deep southern drawl asked from behind me. I turned and spotted a man, barely taller than I, with dark greying hair, and rectangle glasses.

The Counselor chuckled and stood up, "Of course not, Director, I was just trying to explain the... _situation_ to Ms. Yang."

The Director nodded before taking the Counselor's previous seat. The Counselor himself, and I was finally able to get a good look at this 'Director.'

'This must be the man that Aiden and Phyllis were talking about, _'_ I thought.

 _Well no shit, Sherlock._

I rolled my eyes at my insulting inner monologue before focusing in on the Director. He seemed to be in deep focus, his bright green eyes focused on mine. Suddenly I began to feel awkward, he seemed to be staring directly into my soul.

Ha, _directly_ , get it?

 _Yes, haha, hilarious._

Shut up.

"So, Lillian, I am quite pleased that you decided to be a part of our project," the Director said, finally breaking off his intense gaze and pulling out a suitcase.

I went to say something to protest, but when he opened his suitcase, all that came out was a pathetic squeak.

I was expecting some filed papers, or maybe even his lunch, but inside was a bright see through tablet as well as a...glass M1911? I wasn't sure if it was possible to shoot a _glass_ gun, but maybe he just kept it for looks.

The Director took out the tablet and began scrolling and typing before an image popped up into the air, like a hologram.

Now, most people might think this was modern technology at this point, but after Steven and Megan wasted all their money, we became pretty poor. So I was pretty intrigued by all this super expensive stuff.

"Now this," The Director began, "is what my program is all about. This, Lillian, is everything you will be doing, and what you will be a part of. This is Project Freelancer."

* * *

 **A/N: Hey! I know I promised this yesterday, I'm really sorry! I didn't get home until very late and I was sooo tired, but here we are now. I know, shortish again, but after the 12th I'll be 10x less busy with schoolwork (I hate IB).**

 **Anyway, I know I want to include the Blood Gulch Chronicles, but I feel as if that would make this story suuuuuper long and drawn out. So I think I've decided to just make this story strictly Freelancer days. I'll most likely create a sequel to this about Lillian being on the blue team! Yay! (Sorry, but suck it red! (jk ily simmons))**

 **Anyway, let me know what you guys think of the chap and if the two story thing is a good idea? Aight, thanks so much!**

 **~Saaammmm**


	4. Chapter 4

When the jet landed, I was exhausted. Instead of going to Texas, like I had originally planned, I ended up in Washington, D.C. The flight took about 5 hours, and the Director had been talking to me _nonstop_ about Project Freelancer. He told me about what kind of training I'd be going through, where we'd be staying, the bases I'd be infiltrating, things like that. It was silent throughout most of it, I was just too shocked to be able to comprehend it all. He and the Counselor had yet to answer my only question, _why?_

He'd told me everything else, his name, why he started this, and basically his life story.

His name was Dr. Leonard Church (though I wasn't allowed to call him that in public). His main reason behind this because his wife, Allison, had died while in action, but he didn't really go into all the details. I couldn't blame him.

He also told me about his daughter, Lindsay, and how she was about my age. He talked about the ship we'd be on, the Mother of Invention. The Director also told me how'd I get a code name (which I thought was _super_ exciting, until I learned it'd be after a state).

He had answered literally everything.

Except for why they chose _me_.

* * *

The Director escorted me out of the airport, and into an all black car with tinted windows.

"Where are we going?" I asked when the driver took off.

"To NASA Headquarters," he answered. If I had been drinking something, I most likely would've spit it out.

"To NASA?" I repeated, still completely shocked.

The Director smirked at me slightly, "We've got to get to space somehow, my dear."

I nodded, and looked down at my lap, a slight smile on my face. Oh my gosh, NASA? Space? This is literally all I've ever wanted, and it's finally come to me in this once in a lifetime opportunity.

My smile began to fade, once realizing the Director never answered my question.

"Um, Director? Why-why did you choose me? I mean, when you could have some other experienced soldier?" I asked uncertainly.

The Director was quiet for a moment, green eyes gazing out the window, before he sighed and turned his attention to me.

"Lily, you have to understand that I chose you for a reason. The main purpose of this program isn't about how good of a soldier you are, it's about the ability to get better. It's about your leadership skills, and how you'd give your life for anyone you were fighting with. We...we're turning a girl with no military training into a warrior," towards the end of the speech, I noticed his eyes get a little watery before he turned to face the window again.

It made me think he began talking about someone else, rather than me, but I still felt proud.

I realized that he _had_ chosen me for a reason, and I was proud of my decision. I wanted to make the Director proud of his decision, too.

I don't really know what made me trust him so easily. Maybe it was because we had both been through pain in our lives. Or, maybe it was because he actually believed in me, the first person to do so in a long time. Hell, maybe it was even because I looked up to him as a father figure. Maybe it was because I saw the Counselor as a caring, albeit annoying, uncle that I could confide in.

Whatever the reason was, I really _really_ wish I hadn't.

* * *

When we arrived at the NASA headquarters, we immediately entered and were escorted into a room deep in the building. I couldn't really tell where we were exactly in the building, only that I lost track after about 5 flights of stairs, two elevators, and thousands of twists and turns.

I was seated in a chair in front of a desk, where the Director was seated, the Counselor standing a few feet to my left. It was quiet at first, I felt awkward as the Director stared at me once more. Why did he do that? Was he trying to decipher what kind of Agent I'd be?

"So," I started, trying to get the Director to look somewhere else, "I get a codename?"

The Director chuckled and pulled out his briefcase, pulling out the same clear tablet from earlier.

"Enter the state you'd like to be your new 'codename'," he said, handing me the tablet.

I grinned, fascinated by the amazing technology. I thought for a while before deciding which state I'd choose.

California.

Simple, it was where I was from.

The Director nodded at my choice, silently agreeing, before another hologram popped up. It was a black suit of armor.

"This is a model of the armor you will be wearing. You may choose any special modifications you'd like, as well as the design," the Director told me.

I glanced up at him, "You're letting me choose all this? I thought that was your job?" I asked, confused, yet still excited.

"Well, you are our first Freelancer, doesn't it seem fair?" he answered, standing up and quickly exiting the room. The Counselor smiled at me (I blew him a raspberry in return), and followed the Director out.

I spent about the next half hour or so entering my suit design. I decided to make the armor all white. with blue accents. For the modifications, I wasn't really sure where to start. Being new to all this military stuff, I just decided to go with the healing unit, and super speed. I figured being me, I'd probably get injured often; and I just thought being able to run fast would be super cool.

By the time the Director and Counselor turned, I was finished.

"Wonderful," the Director said, handing me a cup of coffee, "are you ready to head off now?"

I nearly spit out my coffee.

"'Head out?' Like, head to _space_?" I asked, definitely shocked. Didn't we just get here? _Aren't they tired?_

"Yes, to space. Right now," the Counselor simplified it.

I sighed and stood up, "I guess?" I answered unsurely, knowing they wouldn't give me a choice in the matter anyway.

* * *

I'll admit, I fell asleep before the rocket even took off. You think I wouldn't be able to sleep while a rocket launched, but you must understand, I. Was. Tired.

Also, after years and years of space exploration, being launched off into space feels like taking of in an airplane, except faster. And there's no gradual liftoff, just straight up into the sky and _boo_ _m_ , your stomach is left on the ground.

Well, that's what the Director told me anyway.

We were on one of his private rockets (private jet, private rocket - what's next? A private planet?). I was strapped in between him and the Counselor. I think they expected me to be extremely nervous, because they prepared some sort of speech to calm me down, but I told them I was fine.

About ten seconds later, I was asleep.

The Director woke me up after we were loaded into a dock on what I presumed to be the Mother of Invention. He led me down a hallway and into the helm? I wasn't sure, not being familiar with giant flying space ships.

"Well, this is it," the Director said, "your new home."

I glanced around at the few people working at the controls. There was a lot of fancy technology stuff that I was unfamiliar with, but assumed I'd have to learn all about it at some point. The workers seemed to pay us no attention, only the occasional worker who would nod at the Director as they passed by.

I sighed to myself, this was it. I was undeniably worn out, eyes drooping and having troubles standing up myself, but I was finally here.

I was finally able to do what I've always wanted to do.

The Director put and arm around my shoulder, seeming to sense my exhaustion.

"Welcome to Project Freelancer, Agent California."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So I'm not really great when it comes to fighting and training and stuff, so I'm just gonna skip ahead a few months bc tbh I have no idea really how to write that stuff? So yeah lmao; there will be a few time skips in this chapter, it's mostly just filling in on what happened before we meet some other freelancers. Aight, enjoy!**

* * *

Today, there was something a little off about the Director.

I don't really see him often unless he has some comments on my training, or he has another mission for me. So, when I saw him to talk about my weekly progress, he had hardly said a word. He just showed me the chart and left.

I hadn't questioned it, I just figured he was busy, or was having one of his days.

I decided to go talk to the Counselor.

I knocked on his office door, and waited for a moment, but nobody answered. I sighed and walked in, and was thoroughly surprised to see the Counselor….wiping his eyes?

"Oh, good morning, Agent California. Is there something you need to discuss with me?" he asked, looking at me and trying to hide the fact that he was just crying.

Immediately I closed the door and sat down in front of his desk. Sure, the Counselor annoyed me sometimes, but I still cared for him.

"Um, is everything alright, Counselor?" I asked, noticing his dark eyes were watery and rimmed with red.

He cleared his throat before answering, "You remember my wife?" his voice cracked at 'wife.'

Of course I remembered her.

Phyllis, the annoying, sarcastic woman who had escorted me around when I first joined. I hadn't really seen her much since then, but she was on the ship with us.

"Did…something happen?" I asked, quite concerned for Aiden and his wife.

"Yes, um, she was an attendant during the flight that was taken down in the midst of the battle near Mars. The ship was trying to land so they could get to safety until it was over, but it they couldn't land in time," The Counselor took a shaky breath, trying to stop himself from crying anymore.

I couldn't believe it, "Oh my God, Counselor…Aiden, I'm so sorry," I just had no idea what to say.

He shook his head and looked at his desk, "It's alright. The Director told me he had a way of bringing Phyllis back to me. Just, not in the way I preferred."

"'Bring her back?' How?" I asked, wondering what the Director was up to.

The Counselor cleared his throat and looked looked at me, eyes brimming with fresh tears, "Artificial Intelligence."

* * *

"Artificial Intelligence? Director, no offense, but, are you _crazy_?" I demanded. "That would never work! Especially a de-"

"It has already worked, Agent California," The Director turned and looked at me. His green eyes were filled with a determination and hope I had never seen before.

"'It already worked?' But-but _how_?" I asked, seriously wondering _how_ he could bring a dead person back.

"I have created two A.I. already. One based on myself, as well as one of the late Mrs. Price. Lillian, I'd like you to meet F.I.L.S.S. Our ship's new Artificial Intelligence."

"Hello, Agent California," a voice spoke from the speakers, making me take a double take. Phyllis? That was Phyllis' voice! The same sarcastic, robotic voice!

"How-"

"And now, I'd like you to meet my first creation. The A.I. based on myself, Alpha," the Director introduced, guiding me towards a large box in the back.

When he lifted the top, the first thing I noticed was how bright it was. The glow gradually subsided and left the shape of a tiny, glowing…human.

Alpha looked up at me, and I noticed he slightly resembled the Director, though I couldn't tell, because Alpha was glowing white, and slightly see through. However, I assumed that is was he looked like when he was younger.

"Um, hi," I said, awkwardly waving to the tiny A.I.

He smiled and waved back, "It's nice to finally meet you, Agent California, my name is Leonard Chur-"

"Now now, remember what we discussed?" The Director interrupted.

Alpha sighed, "Right, right, my name is Alpha."

I smiled tensely, before looking back up to the Director.

"Well now," he said, "I do believe you and I have some things to discuss, Agent. See you soon, Alpha," the Director began to close up the case.

"Goodbye, guys," Alpha said, and I could've sworn the Director flinched, before he sealed the box completely.

* * *

"So, let me get this straight, you want to implant the Artificial Intelligence created from you, into me?" I asked incredulously.

The Director nodded, "I need to see if the A.I. would be stable in the human body before I further my experiments."

I rolled my eyes, "So you want me to be your little lab rat? What happens if the human body isn't capable of handling the A.I. andI die?"

"Well, that's a risk you'd have to be willing to take," the Director answered.

I groaned and slapped my forehead, I remember the Director vaguely going over the topic of A.I. when I first joined. I had just though I'd be working with them from apart, not that one would become a part of my body!

"And besides, you need the A.I. to help you run some enhancements in your suit. Not only that, but the Alpha would be extremely helpful in your next task," the Director commented. I knew he was trying to bribe me into saying yes, and I knew that it was working.

I groaned again, angry at myself for was I was about to do.

"When does the implantation start?"

* * *

I don't remember anything from the actual implantation. The last thing I remember was the Director asking me to count down from 10, and I blacked out somewhere between 6 and 5.

The Director had been leading the operation, seeing as he knew most about how the implantation would go. I was a little sceptical at first, but he reminded me that he was "a doctor for a reason." There were three other people in the operation room, a medic and two nurses. They had strapped me into the chair face down and were going to implant the A.I. into the base of my neck.

When I woke up, there was only one nurse in the room with me.

I stretched, immediately feeling a soreness all over my neck and upper back. I looked around, spotting the nurse as she went to go alert the Director that I had awoken.

I sat up slightly, looking around the familiar med bay. I had been here many times, due to all the previous injuries I've obtained.

What exactly happened?

' _Well, I was implanted in your brain.'_

"Whoa," I said aloud.

That was...Alpha, I recognized his voice, in my _head_.

"I-I'm not going crazy, am I?" I asked out loud, making myself seem pretty crazy.

Suddenly, the little white A.I. appeared and sat down on my lap, grinning up at me.

"Nah, you're not crazy, I'm really here. However, I've been looking through some of your memories, and I can't say the same about that time you were in Santa Cruz-"

"Okay, first of all, that wasn't even my fault, and second of all, what on earth made you think you can just...go through my mind?" I demanded, cheeks feeling warm as I realized he probably knows literally _everything_ now.

Alpha tilted his tiny head, "Well, you did? When you, ya know, let me in there?"

I sighed, rolling my eyes. Alpha seemed like a nice person - well, _A.I._ \- but he seems to be extremely irritating when he wants to be.

I drew my attention back to little guy when he floated up onto my shoulder, swinging his legs, "So, you thought about trying to sleep with the Counselor?" he snorted.

My hand flew up, going to smack him onto the floor, when it just glided right through his body, distorting the image. Alpha started chuckling, saying something about my 'anger issues.' I just groaned for what seemed to be the millionth time, plopping back down on my back.

This was going to take some getting used to.

* * *

"Agent California, the Director would like to speak to you in his office as soon as possible," the robotic voice called from a little radio in my room.

"Thanks F.I.L.S.S, I'll be right there," I replied, making no move to get up.

"I will alert the Director that you are on your way," The ship's A.I. answered.

I rolled my neck, feeling sore from just finishing my training. I had just finished taking off all my armor, leaving me tired, and feeling disgusting.

Since I had received the A.I. Alpha about a month ago, the Director decided to toughen my training regime, forcing me to allow Alpha to help. I had also been allowed to use one of my armor enhancements, super speed, which is why I felt so drained. It was so, _so_ tiring, but worth it.

"Come on, Cali, let's go see what the boss man wants," Alpha said, appearing beside me as I stood up and began walking to the Director's office.

When I had arrived, the Director stood next to one of his computers, patiently waiting for me. Alpha had disappeared half way here; for whatever reason, the A.I. seemed to always be nervous around the Director. He hated talking to him, and avoided it whenever he could.

"You needed me, Director?" I asked, drawing his attention from the computer to me.

He looked at me for a moment, as if contemplating what he would say, before taking off his glasses and wiping his eyes. I hadn't noticed at first, but the Director did seem extremely busy, recently, and quite exhausted. The last time I had seen him like this was when he first created Alpha.

Wait, does that mean-

' _I think he created another A.I.,'_ Alpha spoke in my mind.

"Yes, yes, I'd like to discuss something a bit more serious," he said, motioning for me to take a seat. Once I had, he took one opposite of me.

"You surely remember when I created the A.I. F.I.L.S.S.," He simply stated.

I nodded, "You based her off of a human, the Counselor's late wife, Phyllis. You took bits and pieces of her, memories obtained from both the Counselor and everyone else that had encountered her and based her on that. I don't know how you were able yo make the voice so similar though," I trailed off, it has always been a mystery to me.

The Director looked into my eyes, his own shining with hope and said, "I did it."

I knew exactly what he was talking about, "You created another A.I. based off of Allison, didn't you?"

He nodded, smiling, which was something I had never seen him do before.

 _'You're not gonna replace me with the new A.I., are you?'_ Alpha asked, genuinely concerned for his spot in my mind.

'No, no, of course not,' I thought back, not really paying attention to what the Director was saying. 'He most likely has a different plan for this new A.I.'

I focused back on the Director, "...meet the A.I. we are calling Beta. Her name is Allison, but will be referred to as Agent Texas, and she..."

His voice trailed off once more as I vaguely remember the Director telling me how him and Allison met while going to high school in Texas.

 _'Cali, focus,'_ Alpha reminded me.

"...a long day tomorrow. For now, go get some rest."

I went straight back to my bedroom, and did just that.


	6. Chapter 6

Alpha woke me the next morning. Remembering I had to meet Agent Texas, he set my alarm for 4:30 in the gosh darn morning. I tried to ignore it, rolling over and covering my ears with a pillow, but he just yelled in my mind.

' _Rise and shine, Sweetheart!'_ He screeched, a little too cheerfully for my liking.

"For fuck's sake, Alpha, I'm up!" I complained, sitting up and stretching.

Though I'd never say it out loud, I was extremely thankful for Alpha. Despite constantly annoying me, I knew that when he did things like that, it was his own way of showing that he cares.

Plus, I used the extra time he gave me to take a quick shower, since I hadn't yesterday.

Normally, one would feel awkward while standing naked as a miniature human could see and hear everything that you could. But from the very first day, Alpha and I agreed that bathroom times were alone times. Whenever I was in there, he'd go hang out in my room, or talk to F.I.L.S.S. It's not like it mattered much anyway, Alpha has seen me in my worst moments, whether through my memories, or experiencing it with me. Though, he still respected my privacy and left me alone whenever I asked.

When I got out of the shower, I didn't spot the A.I., so I assumed he was with F.I.L.S.S. or something. I dried off, and slipped on one of the many skin tight body suits I had. I always wore one of these under my armor; I couldn't wear anything else due the fact that I chafe real easily. (I know, I know, but you try wearing all this armor with nothing blocking your skin from the rough metal).

As I finished getting ready, Alpha appeared in my room.

"What time is it?" I asked, putting my hair into a french braid.

"5:16 A.M."

"What time do we have to meet the Bet - Agent Texas?"

"…9:00…"

I turned around and glared at the A.I., who had backed up near the door.

"You woke me up at 4:30 in the morning for no fucking reason?" I demanded.

Alpha appeared closer to my face as he argued back, "I just thought you'd like the extra time! You need to eat, and train, and you needed to shower!"

I rolled my eyes but smiled at the little guy, who, if an A.I. could blush, would be blushing.

"Alright, let's go eat then."

* * *

The cafeteria had been next to empty. Only people like the medics, and others who had really early shifts, were there. I ate alone, like usual, munching on some oatmeal as Alpha ran off a list of the daily nutrients and vitamins I have consumed and still needed.

"You've gotten: 190 calories, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 5 grams of protein, 3 grams of fat, and your 10 percent daily value of iron! Along with that, you have 25 percent daily val-"

"Thank you, Alpha, but you do this everyday," I complained, cutting off the useless information that spat out of his mouth.

"Well, I just want to make sure you eat enough to stay alert and healthy during your training. You know what happens if you don't eat enough," Alpha reminded me.

I sighed, definitely remembering, "Yes, but it's almost six. That means we still have two more hours before we need to go see the Director and Allison," I said, realizing the mistake I made too late.

I froze, hoping Alpha hadn't heard what I just said. The Director had warned me not to mention her name. Alpha could become unstable, and could remember too much.

I slowly glanced up at Alpha, noticing as how his eyes seemed to be glued to the table.

"Did you say...Allison?" He asked me hesitantly.

Crap.

"No! Well, yes I did - but, it's not the same-" I quickly tried to make up some excuse, my mind still not functioning properly due to the early hour.

"Allison is dead," Alpha said, his voice laced with a pain I've never heard from him, "she can't be here."

I swallowed, slowly nodding. The Director told me that A.I. could feel emotions, just like humans. They can feel sadness, happiness, love, etc. They just couldn't feel physical pain.

I figured that Alpha wasn't feeling physical pain.

"Yes, I know that, um, it-it just slipped out, Alpha, I'm sorry," I said, looking at the white glowing A.I.

His eyes were still focused on the table, and I felt an immense amount of guilt flowing through my stomach.

"Yes, so please, don't ever mention _her_ again," Alpha said, looking up at me, pale eyes swimming with sadness and what I assumed to be regret.

"Y-yes, of course. Um, do you want to train?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

Alpha nodded and looked back down at the table, before sighing and disappearing. I sighed too, before throwing out my plastic bowl and heading over to the training room.

* * *

"Agent California, the-"

"Shut up, F.I.L.S.S.! I'm trying to fo-"

"Cali, look out!"

Alpha's warning came a second too late, as the metal pole whammed into my back, sending me face first into the floor.

I groaned in frustration, cursing stupid F.I.L.S.S. and her stupid timing. Alpha chuckled as I rolled onto my back, chucking my helmet off.

"I tried to warn ya'," he teased, floating above my stomach.

"Yeah, yeah, shut up, Alpha," I mumbled, starting to pick myself up.

"Agent California, the Director would like to see you immediately," F.I.L.S.S. said again.

I sighed, rolling my eyes, "Thanks."

Standing up, I grabbed my helmet and tried to stretch out my back, I could tell I would be receiving a pretty gnarly bruise.

"Cali, I think I'm gonna head to our room, I don't feel like talking with the Director today," Alpha said, floating in front of my face. I could relate, most days I didn't want to deal with the Director either.

"Okay, see you in a bit, Al," I smiled softly, and he disappeared.

I sighed again, kind of dreading my meeting with the Director and Agent Texas. Hopefully Alpha never really sees her, I don't know how he'd react seeing Allison's face.

* * *

"Wow," was the only thing that left my mouth when I saw Agent Texas.

It wasn't her badass, black armor, or the way she stared me down, and it wasn't even the fact that she was a realistic, human sized, A.I.

It was how much she looked like Allison.

Every single strand of hair was the exact shade of blonde it was supposed to be, her eyes were the exact same color as they had been in the video, and her facial features were uncanny. I've never met Allison, only seen videos and pictures, but I'd have to guess her body structure was nearly identical.

"Agent Texas, I'd like to introduce you to Agent California," the Director said, his hand pointed towards me.

Agent Texas looked me up and down, a slight frown on her beautiful face. I could see a light spread of freckles across her nose and cheeks.

"Hi," I grinned and waved, deciding there was no need for me to intimidate her. If anything, I felt a little intimidated.

Texas smirked and held out her hand for me to shake. I accepted, but felt weird shaking hands with an A.I. based on a dead person. I mean, does she know?

"Agent California, I'd like you to show Agent Texas around, perhaps even train with her a little, show her the ropes, if you will," the Director instructed, smiling at how the two of us seemed to be getting along.

"Of course, Director. Um, Agent? Would you mind stepping outside for a sec? I gotta ask the Director something," I asked hesitantly, not sure how Texas would react.

She glanced at the Director and nodded, before walking out.

"Director, does she know?" I asked, eager to get an answer as soon as possible.

The Director's gaze turned cold.

"No, and I'd appreciate it if you could never mention it to her. Not about who I am, who she was, what she really is, not even about the Alpha. The two mustn't cross paths," the Director said harshly.

"I understand Director, but does Alpha know about Allison?" I asked, getting nervous again. I didn't want to tell him that I said Allison's name in front of Alpha, but I have to. It might cause something bad, I don't know.

"Yes, which is why I asked you to never mention her to the alpha, as well," the Director said, looking at me as if a teacher was scolding a student.

In return, I did the student thing and looked around, avoiding his eye contact.

"You...didn't mention Allison's name to the A.I. did you?"

Guilt swam through my gut again, and I knew I had to tell him.

"I just-I didn't mean to-I didn't even-"

"Lillian! You know that you weren't supposed to!" The Director yelled at me, causing me to feel angry in return.

"I know this, but it was an accident!" I yelled back, my voice cracking. He knows we all make mistakes! Where's the Counselor, he's understand!

"But this little accident may cause a very big problem in the long run! If the alpha runs into Agent Texas, it can cause significant damage to-"

"To what? To the A.I.?" I argued, "Alpha and F.I.L.L.S. communicate all the time, there's nothing wrong wi-"

"Alpha remembers Allison," the Director said, calming down. "If he see's her, he will think that she is real, that she is alive, and that may cause him to...malfunction."

Despite the fact that the Director stopped yelling at me, I still felt angry. What was the Director's problem? Alpha isn't going to meet Agent Texas, and even if he does, he won't know who she really is! He's not weak, we...we're not weak.

"Alpha is stronger than that. I'm stronger than that," I said darkly, daring the Director to argue.

"I am aware of your strength, Agent California, however, it is not your physical strength I am worried about," the Director took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "If something goes wrong with Alpha, he could tear you mind apart. You would go insane."

"I'm not weak-"

"Yes you are, Lillian. You're weak," the Director said.

My pulse pounded in my ears, and my hands clenched into fists.

"No, you're the weak one Director," I said, getting close to dangerous waters, but who the heck does he think he is? I could hardly focus, I'm not weak! I could destroy the Director right now if I wanted to.

Suddenly, Alpha appeared.

"Agent California, you can't re-"

Suddenly, the world went black.

* * *

 **A/N: Heeeyyyyy! I know it's been quite a while since my last update, and I'm reeaaalllyyy sorry! But like I said, I'd be a LOT less busy after the 12th. Anyway, I feel like this chapter is really rushed and that it sucks, but hopefully it's okay? But whOa, why did Cali pass out? I mean, I know, but tell me what you think happened in the reviews! I'll give you a hint: It has to do with a pretty _angry_ character from the Blood Gulch Chronicles.**

 **Okay, well thank you all sOOOO much!**

 **~Saam :D**


	7. Chapter 7

When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was how bright it was.

There was a aching pain that started at the back of my neck and crawled all over my head. It felt as if my head had been split into a two and then put back together. The pain in my head was so bad it made me nauseous, and I was seeing blurry doubles.

What the _hell_ happened?

"Hey, you're awake," a voice echoed.

From what I could see, no one was in the room. So when someone spoke, it startled me and I swiveled my head around, trying to spot somebody. However, the sudden movement made me feel worse and I ended up vomiting over the side of the bed.

"W-who…?" I could hardly form words, afraid that if I opened my mouth, more bile would spill out.

I moaned and laid back down, covering my eyes with my arm, trying to stop the painful brightness.

"Cal, it's me," the voice said again. I could hardly recognize it. God, what the fuck happened?

"Lillian, it's Alpha," they said again, and a bright light appeared in front of me.

Not being able to handle the blurry, bright light (plus, there was _two_ ), I screamed and swatted at it, not understanding what was going on.

It disappeared as fast as it showed up.

"Okay, okay, I'm gone," this 'Alpha' spoke softly, and I slowly opened my eyes.

I sighed and looked around once more, my vision beginning to clear, but the lights still hurt.

"Lily, do you remember what happened?" 'Alpha' asked me.

"No...no, I-I...I hardly remember who _I_ am," I said, squeezing my eyes shut and quickly swallowing the bile that began to rise up my throat again.

"Okay," Alpha said, slowly and calmly, "I'm gonna help you. You may not remember me, but I'm your friend."

I nodded before immediately regretting the action as I threw up all over myself.

"Fuck," I whispered, wiping my mouth.

"Hey, it's okay," Alpha said again, appearing once more. This time, he was on the far side of the room, near the door. He was still a bright and all white, but I could make out the shape of...a tiny person?

"I'm gonna go get a medic or something," Alpha explained. "Just, um...wait here?" he said unsurely.

If I could've rolled my eyes without vomiting, I would have. However, I just opted to nodding softly and laying back down on my bed, peeling off my vomit covered blanket and kicking it off the bed. I have no idea who these people are, but if they did this to me, they can deal with my soiled blanket.

As soon as the blanket fell to the floor, I was out again.

* * *

When I woke up again, I felt a lot better. I still had a severe headache, and I felt slightly nauseous, but at least I could move without wanting to cry.

The room wasn't blurry, and there was one of everything, thank goodness, and I could look at the light without being in pain.

I noticed I had a fresh blanket, and the vomit on the floor had been cleaned. I also realized I was in the medbay on the Mother of Invention. Alpha had probably brought in a medic after I fell back asleep.

At least I'm remembering everything now.

But still, why did I pass out?

"Hey, Lils," Alpha appeared by the counter, away from my bed.

I sighed and smiled softly, "You can come closer, Alpha."

He reappeared on my stomach, sitting cross legged, though I couldn't feel him. Was he floating above me? Or was he just so light that I can't feel him?

"How are you?" he asked, slightly hesitantly.

I shrugged, stretching, "I mean I remember stuff, so that's good. Why did I pass out though?"

Alpha looked away, obviously hiding something from me. Normally, I'd get annoyed and force him to tell me, but I was too tired to care.

"Maybe, um, the Director should tell you, I think," Alpha said finally.

I nodded and tried to sit up, but a wave of nausea hit me as soon as I moved, and Alpha helped me lay back down.

"Ugh, _fuck,_ man," I groaned, rubbing my eyes.

I hadn't noticed how awkward and distant Alpha was being until the Director walked in. As soon as he spotted him, Alpha disappeared.

'Alpha, stop being so salty,' I thought.

' _Shut up_.'

"Agent California, I'm glad to see you're awake. How are you feeling?" The Director asked, standing next to my bed.

"Like you smashed my head in with a brick, but I'm alright," I answered, blinking slowly at the older man.

He chuckled, but didn't answer. There were a few minutes of silence before I decided to break that silence.

"Um, the Alpha told me that you needed to tell me why I passed out," I mumbled.

"Yes, yes, I believe that it is only fair," The Director started. "Now, you have to understand that what happened, happened for a reason."

For a reason? Did the Director piss me off on purpose or something?

' _That's exactly what he did.'_

"In the beginning of Project Freelancer, I was granted the use of one A.I. for experimental purposes. The Alpha is the A.I."

"But, what about the Beta? And F.I.L.S.S.? They're both-"

The Director put his hand up, "I understand that, Agent. However, the ship's A.I. is used as a military program, therefore it doesn't count towards my experiments. The Beta, however, is. And it is being kept a secret. And I am going to ask you to keep another secret. I have created another Artificial Intelligence, using your anger and the Alpha A.I. We're calling it...Omega."

I stared at the Director, and he stared at me.

"So, you're telling me," I swallowed before continuing, "That you made me angry on purpose... _just_ to create another A.I. from the one already implanted into my body."

"Yes."

I threw up all over my new sheets.

"What the fuck? You did all this and it _never_ occurred to you that you might want to get my approval first?!" I exclaimed, furious.

The Director sighed and took off his glasses, "If we did that, we wouldn't have an Omega right now."

I took a deep breath, calming myself down before responding, "Why did you need me to get angry before you could create the Omega A.I.?"

The Director hesitated before answering, "Well, the Artificial Intelligence have to be based off of something in order to be created, hence the name 'artificial.'"

I nodded in agreement, "Alpha was based off of you, F.I.L.S.S. off of...Phyllis, and Beta off of Allison."

"Correct, now, the Omega had to be based off of something as well. Off of the Alpha. Henceforth, The Omega A.I. is a little piece of Alpha that was broken off to be it's own. It was based off of Alpha's rage," the Director told me.

His rage. No wonder I had to get so mad in order for it to work. Perhaps they had to let Omega begin to take over before he could be broken off. However, a different thought began to settle in my mind.

"You broke my A.I.?" I asked, feeling suddenly protective of Alpha. Wouldn't that hurt? To have something attached to you literally ripped from your body?

No wonder I was in so much pain when I woke up. But just imagine poor Alpha. God, he must be so _tired_.

"Well, yes, but it didn't affect him negatively, that I can assure you," the Director said.

At the time, I had believed him. Now, however, I know that breaking apart the Alpha had destroyed him in more than one way.

Reluctantly, I sighed and didn't answer, hoping that the Director was right, and my Alpha would be okay.

"Well, where's Omega now?" I asked, eager to meet this new A.I. whether I wanted to try and destroy it, or I wanted to become friends with it, I didn't know.

"Why, we inserted the Omega A.I. into Agent Texas, and she will begin training with you in a matter of days."

* * *

 **A/N: So you know when you have to type a word with a capital letter and you end up typing lIKE THIS? I did that about 80 times this chapter, it was so funny hjkadh.**

 **Anyway, I know it's been a while since my last update, but it turns out I was lying when I said I'd be less busy and I'm still actually super busy :-/. The good news is I will stop being busy after the 22nd, which is my final presentation for this big school project I have.**

 **So, expect updates to be more frequent after that (unless I lied again and something pops up).**

 **Moving on: I'd like to respond to some reviews I have, I'm suuuuuper thankful for you guys and I hope you don't think that I'm like ignoring you or anything!**

 _ **In response to**_ **Archangel Writings - I'm extremely glad you like it! (tbh at first I wrote "extrememely"). I think I sort of answered that question in my author's note in chap 3. But, I will be ending this story after Freelancer goes to shit, however, I will be publishing a new story after. Sort of like a sequel, it will be about Lily and her times with the Blood Gulch guys. She get's sent there sorta like Florida does.**

 _ **In response to**_ **ShadowScorch the Duelmaster - YEs! It was Omega (aka: O'Malley). Good job for guessing correctly, and being the only one to guess haha (cri) *gives you a million bucks* Anyway, I'm really, really glad you like my story! It means a lot and knowing that you're waiting for the update sIRIUSly makes me want to update sooner (I'll try)**

 **and _in response to_ EVERYONE ELSE that reviewed, I'm so glad you guys all like it! Juts seriously thAnk you so much, I hope you guys liked this chapter!**

 **~Saaammmm**


	8. Chapter 8

After the Director told me about Agent Texas and the Omega A.I., I had gotten out of bed. My head still hurt a little, but I wasn't nauseous anymore. Deciding I didn't want to stay covered in my own vomit, I took a shower and changed, feeling as fresh and as new as I had in the last...I'd say 36 hours.

Alpha had appeared while I was changing, he was curious about what happened in the med bay. He wanted to meet Omega, to sort of "show him who's boss," he joked. But I knew deep down he wanted to make sure that Omega knew that I was _Alpha's_.

"Sorry, buddy, you can't. A.I. aren't allowed to make contact with other A.I.," I told him. "Some sort of protocol, I dunno."

Okay, I sorta lied at that last part, but the fact that he couldn't meet Omega was true, that actually came from the Director himself. In fact, nobody was supposed to know about Alpha in general. I didn't really know why, I figured it was the same reason why Alpha felt really uncomfortable around the Director. Perhaps they just get too worked up around their creator?

After convincing Alpha to stay silent around Texas and Omega, I headed to the training area. The Director told me I needed to help train Agent Texas to work with her new A.I. He said it'd be a lot easier than with Alpha.

"Alpha is one entire Artificial Intelligence, while Omega is merely a _fraction_. Just one puny part of what you have in your mind right now," the Director said, amazing me.

It made me feel strong, powerful. I _was_ powerful, more than anybody here on this ship. Who else would be able to contain an entire A.I. in their mind without completely freaking out? The Director told me I had a very high chance of going insane. That the Alpha might not agree with me, and it could've destroyed my mind, leaving me as nothing. Fortunately, Alpha _did_ agree with me, and we matched together perfectly. It had taken several weeks, but the Alpha and I became an unstoppable force.

 _We were indestructible._

* * *

I arrived after Agent Texas, who I assumed had been there for a couple of minutes. She had her black armor on, her helmet resting on the floor beside her as she struggled to put her hair up. I smirked softly, noting how the broad shoulders in her armor was preventing her from lifting her arms up high enough to reach her hair. Had this been someone else, I would've made fun of them for not putting their hair up first. However, this was Agent Texas, whom I didn't know very well, and she currently had an A.I. that was filled with extreme rage.

I decided against it and just offered to put her hair up for her. She refused and eventually got her hair into a low ponytail. I cracked my neck before placing my white helmet with blue accents on my head.

Texas jumped and shook out her limbs, stretching and getting ready before we started training.

"Alright," I started, "first, you need to understand how Omega thinks. He's really angry, right? You might be able to use his anger and rage and turn it into power. Become mad, and take it all out on your enemy."

Texas nodded, whether she was agreeing with what she already knew, or taking my advice, I didn't know. I felt kind of awkward, I was never the trainer, and I'm not very good when it comes to friendships.

"Agent California-"

"You can call me Cali. My friends do," I blurted. What the fuck? You idiot, what friends?

 _'I'm your friend...bitch,'_ Alpha muttered.

I rolled my eyes.

"Oh um, Cali, then. I guess you can call me...Tex," she said awkwardly. I guess I wasn't the only one terrible at making friends.

"Okay Tex," I smiled, though she couldn't see it, "You had a question?"

* * *

For the next few months, Tex and I trained nonstop with our A.I. The Director sent us on simple missions in order for us to test our new abilities. Tex became undeniably strong, her and Omega were the perfect team. Though Alpha and I were still stronger.

Tex still didn't know about Alpha. I wasn't allowed to talk to him/about him unless I was alone. While on a missions, Alpha helped me silently, telling me what I needed by whispering in my mind. I had to force myself to think about what I wanted to say, rather than shouting it out to Alpha like I usually did.

Omega was similar to Alpha in that sense. I rarely saw or heard him. When fighting, Omega stayed hidden, but if I got close enough to Tex, I could hear her muttering silently to him. While we were on the Mother of Invention, I'd occasionally see Omega. He was a really dark grey color, and his voice was deep and scraggly, as if he was growling all the time. He only ever spoke when Tex, the Director, the Counselor, and I were going over our missions, either before the mission, or after. Even then, he only spoke about what he and Tex did right, and what they could do to make themselves better. He never gave feedback on anyone else.

Not that I cared, Alpha's feedback was more important.

For nearly a year, it was just Tex and I. We worked insanely well together, we were both strong fighters, and often gave each other pointers. I hoped it would stay like that, but of course the Director would go and ruin it for me, like always.

* * *

"You're giving us _rookies_?"

"Giving _you_ rookies, I'm not allowed to be seen by them, remember?" Tex smirked at me, crossing her arms.

I glared at her, crossing my arms as well, "Shut up-"

"Now, now, Agent California," the Director interrupted, "I understand why you might be a little disappointed-"

"' _A little disappointed?!'_ I am _much_ more than a-"

"Agent California!" the Director yelled. Immediately I shut up and Tex and I stood at attention. Sometimes the Director let me get away with so much, that I forgot that he was technically our commanding officer.

It was silent for a few moments before the Director began speaking again, his voice harsh and cold.

"Now, Agent Texas is to _not_ be seen, or to be mentioned, is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," Tex and I replied simultaneously. The Director gave us a few more rules before he let us off. Usually Tex and I would train or go over new strategies, but seeing as it was late and I had to get ready for the new freelancer tomorrow, we just chilled in my room.

Things were a lot less awkward between Tex and I now. Over the year of working together, we became what I considered best friends. I told her all about myself, by terrible past, shitty parents, and all the dirty things that I wasn't proud of. She didn't care at all, and treated me exactly the same. Tex didn't tell me about her past, though I didn't mind. She claimed she didn't like talking about it, but I thought she didn't even _know_ what her past was.

The only thing Tex didn't know about me was Alpha, but it didn't really bother me that I didn't tell her. I never liked getting close to people, I was usually distant and lied a lot, but I knew I could trust Tex. I mean, we've saved each others' lives more than either of us could count.

After about an hour of just talking, Tex headed back to her room. As soon as he was sure Tex was gone, Alpha appeared. Not being able to talk to most of the week, we went over the most recent mission I went on. It went like those conversations usually do.

"Alpha, compliment me."

"You're beautiful, now shut the hell up."

"I meant about the mission we just went on! But thank you."

"Shut up, bitch, you did terrible."

Deciding I would shower in the morning, I got some sleep in order to prepare me for the newbies I would face tomorrow.

* * *

 **A/N: So, I'd like to go over a few things that may seem confusing? First of all, a reviewer asked if Tex was really created this early on. The truth is, I don't know lmao. I just know that the Freelancers had obviously been working together for a while before Tex was introduced. When she was, she was extremely strong, and very close with the Director, seeing as she was shown talking to him in private. So, for the sake of my story, it makes sense to me that the Director wanted to keep her a secret for some reason idk.**

 **Second, I actually don't know in what order the freelancers came, or if they all showed up at the same time. In my story, I'm introducing the ones that were higher on the list thingy. It makes sense, the most experienced are the strongest. If it ends up being canonically different, oh whale.**

 **Thirdly, I've just recently realized I've been spelling 'F.I.L.S.S.' wrong? (I've been spelling it 'F.I.L.L.S.') I changed the spelling when I noticed it, but I'm too lazy to go and fix it in older chapters.**

 **Okay, that's about it! Thanks so much, you guys! Please let me know what you thought of this chapter in the reviews, or if you have any questions/or anything really**

 **~Saammmm :-)**


	9. Chapter 9

I really didn't want to wake up in the morning.

My mental alarm went off (AKA: Alpha), and I groaned so loud it made my throat hurt.

It's not that I didn't want to get out of bed, or that I was even all that tired. I just _really_ didn't want to deal with the new Freelancers coming in. I wasn't good when it came to speaking to people, usually I just insulted them or fucked them.

Now, I knew I was allowed to insult them. In a way, I was sort of their commanding officer, like a sort of supervisor. I could criticize them 24/7 if I wanted to. However, I don't think the Director would be too pleased with me sleeping with one of the rookies. In fact, there was a rule against relationships between agents in Project Freelancer.

Interrupting my thoughts, Alpha appeared in front of my face, his bright form burning my eyes in the dark room.

"Up and at 'em, Sunshine!" he yelled, making me really wish that I could push him.

"Ugh, go away," I grumbled, reluctantly sitting up. Can't I get one day off? Just to lay in my sometimes warm, not so soft, bed all day long? Maybe even get a cuddle buddy?

I shook my head, 'Can't get too attached to anyone.' I reminded myself. That was my number one rule. I was already walking on thin ice when it came to my friendship with Tex.

After showering and changing, I slowly put on my armor, hoping to waste as much time as possible. I knew I was being ridiculous, it was just that most rookies are so hard to handle! They're either whiny, annoying, and don't do shit, _or_ , they're a complete know-it-all kiss-ass.

"Agent California, the new agents are waiting for you on the training floor. The Director wants me to remind you to not bring up Agent Texas or the Alpha A.I." F.I.L.S.S.' voice called into my room. I sighed, putting on the last of my armor.

"Tell the Director I'm on my way," I answered, before grabbing my helmet and heading out.

* * *

When I got to the training room, I spotted five people all lounging about on the tables and chairs in the far corner. They all wore there armor, helmets off as they conversed with one another. It didn't take me long to realize that they all knew each other and _I_ was the odd one out.

The agents all spotted me as soon as I got close enough, they all glanced at me before continuing their own conversations. It irritated me that they overlooked me as if I was just some nobody. _I'm_ the first freelancer!

 _'Calm down, Cali. Just...check them out,'_ Alpha said in my mind.

Taking his advice, I studied the agents. The first two were a guy and a girl, in golden and light blue armor respectively. The man was tan, he had brown hair and was admittedly good looking. However, from the way the red-headed, green eyed woman sat with him, I could tell he was off limits. Maybe I needed to tell them about the 'no dating' rule.

The next agent was sitting by himself, occasionally joining in a conversation. He had white armor, which was extremely similar to mine, and it bothered me a little. He swung his legs like a little kid as he sat on the table, grinning under his big, fancy mustache. However, he noticed me frowning at him and he frowned at me in return. Deciding I already didn't like him, I turned to the final pair of agents, and noticed they looked very familiar.

They were another pair, boy and girl, though they looked too much alike to be dating. With their bleached blonde hair, and pale blue eyes, I was really annoyed that I couldn't place where the fuck I've seen them before.

"He-hey! Is that you? Our Lil' Lily!" the dark purple armored man cried, grinning and holding his arms out like he wanted a hug. The violet armor clad woman rolled her eyes at her brother's childish like actions.

Then it hit me.

"Ed? Beth?! W-how-why are you here?" I asked, giving them each a hug.

Beth shrugged, "The same reason as why you never got on that plane. Project Freelancer."

I couldn't help but smile at being reunited with my friends. Despite the fact that we only talked once, I still thought it was cool that we saw each other again. And here, of all places!

"Well," Ed said, "I think we need to reintroduce ourselves! I am Agent North Dakota, and this is my sister South Dakota. Just call us North and South!"

I laughed, missing his friendliness. "Well, it's very nice to meet you! I am Agent California, you can call me Cali."

Ed - North - wiggled his eyebrows, "Oooh, California? Isn't that where you're from?"

"No shit, Sherlock," South muttered, and I laughed at the two.

Suddenly, I realized there were three other agents with us, and I regained my composer, walking to where I could see all five of them. They all stared up at me, South smirking, and a tiny grin on North's face.

"Hello, welcome to Project Freelancer," I started, remembering what the Director wanted me to say. "I am Agent California, I was the first freelancer to join the program. Therefore, the Director deemed it fit that I go over a few things for you guys. First-"

"We're not new to Project Freelancer," The red head interrupted me. "We're here per the Director's request. We were chosen for a special experiment. The best of the best are here." It pissed me off that she just cut me off like that, but I admired her bravery, and her determination. Looking at her, I could tell she was strong. But, something else about her caught my attention.

"What's your name?" I asked, catching her off guard.

She blinked, obviously confused, "Agent Carolina."

I shook my head, "No, your name, I asked for your _name_." Those eyes, _I've seen those eyes._

She frowned at me, "It's _Carolina_ C-"

"Welcome, agents! I hope Agent California hasn't scared you off yet," the Director's southern drawl came. Instantly, Carolina's body went stiff as she stood at attention, along with the other agents and I.

I glanced at the Director while he talked to the other agents, and I found myself drawn to his green eyes that I was always envious of. Freezing, I looked back at Carolina.

Now I knew where I've seen her eyes, I saw them in the Director.

'Carolina _Church_ ,' she had meant to say.

* * *

 _XxXxX A few months later XxXxX_

It turns out that a few months after I joined Project Freelancer, others had joined. Altogether there were 50 of us agents, though everyone else only knew of 49. The Director decided that since I would begin working more with the other agents, I should move into the area of the ship where all the other agents slept. I was a little disappointed that my room was smaller, and extremely disappointed that I had to use the locker room's toilets and showers, but overall it was okay.

I became closer to North and South, as well as Agents New York and Wyoming. New York, or 'York', as we all called him, was a really laidback guy, and was really funny. He and Carolina were _obviously_ a thing, which was against the rules, but no one said anything. Wyoming and I had more of a love-hate relationship. I remember we disliked each other at first because our matching armor color, but we got over it and now used it as an inside joke.

Carolina and I, well, it was difficult to say what kind of friendship we had. She reminded me _so much_ of Tex, which mad sense because that's technically her mom. Carolina was just as strong, determined, and as hard headed as she was. We got along well enough, she was just way too competitive. She could never lose. Whether it was in battle, while training, or just doing everyday things. She _always_ had to be the best.

More often then not, I'd find us girls, 'Lina, South, Connecticut (C.T.) and I had competitions to see who could brush their teeth the fastest. C.T. usually won, South never cared who won, I only did it for laughs, and Carolina acted like she never cared, but we all knew that she was _extremely_ salty whenever C.T. won.

Along with those guys, I met a lot of other agents as well. I usually talked with the ones that trained with me, and my buddies, which were agents Maine, Florida, and Washington. Florida was a really sweet guy, sometimes he didn't have much common sense, but he always gave piggyback rides whenever someone was tired. Therefore, he was good in my book (I was always tired.

Maine and I hardly talked, in fact he never really talked to anyone. He was this really big, scary guy that looked like he wanted to kill everything, and that _could_ kill everything. He intimidated me a little, but I knew he'd never purposefully harm his fellow agents. As for Washington, I don't really know what to say about him. He was nice, and occasionally funny, but for the most part, he was just this giant ball of awkward. Especially when he was with me.

Now, I'm not gonna do the whole 'I don't know why this guy is so shy around me, he can't possibly like me,' act. I will say straight up that Agent Washington _did_ have a crush on me, a huge one. I just never knew how to react back to him. I hardly knew him, I didn't know his real name. I had never even see him without his helmet off! So when the guy came over to me, stuttering and mumbling words, I just blushed and mumbled words back.

Maybe I felt a little flattered. I had never really known what it felt like when someone cared so much for me like Washington had. Even though it was a silly little crush, it made me feel really special. Sometimes I'd think about Charles, and how he thought he loved me. I knew that wasn't love, though. He was just in love with the _idea_ of love, and he just thought that I was hot.

But with Washington, it was different then that.

It was always different with him.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey! Two chaps in one day :D idk guys, I'm just super inspired rn**

 **But yo, we met Wash! My tiny bean. And yes, I skipped around some, I just wasn't sure how to add all the freelancers in, but I hope you enjoyed the part with Lily describing her friendships with the other freelancers. Also, it may seem like I was hating on Carolina but not at all, she's one of my favs but I was just writing how Cali views her and based off of how she acts in the show, she always wants to be number 1**

 **But the bathroom part, with the girls racing to brush their teeth, you knOW that happened!**

 **Anyway, review and let me know what you thought!**

 **~Saammmm :-)**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Weird writing this in the beginning, I just realized I've never actually described Lily's appearance? Like** ** _I_** **know what I want her to look like, and I guess you guys can just make her look like whatever you want her to. I usually try and describe her appearance without actually giving it away I guess. I've always loved stories where the author sort of let's the reader let themselves into the story, so just imagine whatever you think Lily would look like!**

 **I've always imagined her with medium length dark brown hair, so dark it's often mistaken as black. She has brown, almond shaped eyes, and full lips, though not considered 'big.' As for body type, I've always used my own body? Which would mean Lily is about 5'7, and she's really fit and in shape due to all the training she does (that part is NOT based off me lmao). I've never really considered her to be curvy, she's just thin and has a descent butt and boobs, about C cup? And I guess that's about it.**

 **So, imagine her however you want to, but I just wanted to make the description clear I guess lol. Anyway, on to the chap!**

* * *

My mornings usually started off with Alpha waking me up in some ruthless way.

This particular morning, he decided to wake me up by continuously chanting, "wake up, wake up, wake up," in my ear. He got louder and louder until he was practically screaming into my ears, and I ended up yelling at him.

When I sat up, Alpha floated in front of me, laughing at my anger. Though he annoyed me nonstop, I knew I could never actually stay mad at the little A.I. We've been together through so much, and I couldn't help but see him as an annoying child. Despite the fact that he took more care of me then I did of him, I just felt extremely protective of him. Especially when I learned what the Director wanted to do.

Eventually, I got out of bed and grabbed some random clothes before heading over to the locker room. The locker room was shared with all Freelancers. It was where we kept things like water, extra clothes, towels, etc. There was a rack for our armor, but everyone usually kept there armor in their room.

The locker room eventually split off into two sections, one for boys and one for the girls. When I got to the girl's showers, I internally groaned at the fact that all but one of them were occupied. The shower stall at the end was right across from the entrance, and it _conveniently_ didn't have a curtain. Usually, the unlucky person hung up their towel to get some protection, but I had actually groaned out loud when I realized I had _forgotten_ my towel.

Now, I could have easily walked into the locker rooms to get an extra towel. But, knowing today was a Sunday, all the extra towels were gone because it was laundry day. At the sound of me voicing my anger, a head popped out of the shower curtain next to me. C.T.'s grinning face met my own, grimacing face. Her short brown hair was stuck to one side of her face; she had shaved half of her head in a dare, but ended up really liking it.

"Maybe you can get someone to hold a towel up for ya,'" she teased, nodded her head to the empty stall next to her. I glared at her, though I wasn't actually mad at her.

"Everyone is either showering or sleeping!" I complained.

C.T. made and 'oh well' face and said, "You better hurry, you know what happens on our days off." With that, she slid back behind the curtain and continued to shower.

I rolled my eyes and reluctantly started the shower. C.T. was right, today was our day off, which meant we didn't have to be anywhere by a certain time. Usually, everyone was forced to take a quick shower, but today everyone could shower for as long as they wanted to. This meant the hot water would run out _fast_.

' _Which means you have to hurry,'_ Alpha spoke. I silently agreed, smiling to myself when the water was still warm. Quickly, I glanced at the shower room entrance, making sure no one was walking around.

'They really need to make a door for that,' I thought, before undressing quickly.

I tried to shower as quickly as I could while still enjoying it. However, about halfway into the shower, I realized I _still didn't have a fucking towel_.

"Oh goddammit!" I grumbled, looking out at the other stalls. Maybe I could get C.T. or South to get me a towel.

If they were still here.

I stood there for a good two minutes, staring at the empty shower stalls next to me. _When the fuck did they leave?!_

 _'I dunno, Cali, but hurry, the water is starting to get cold,'_ Alpha hurried me. I washed my hair, still not understanding how they all could have left without me knowing. I had only showered for about ten minutes, surely I would have heard the water stop right? Or maybe even _see them leave?!_

I turned my own shower off, not used to the silence in the shower rooms. Not only was a shocked, I was also pissed at C.T. for leaving even though she _knew_ I didn't have a towel.

' _Maybe she's bringing you one,'_ Alpha suggested. Hoping he was right, I waited until I started shivering before I decided she wasn't going to bring me a towel.

"Fuck," I muttered. Maybe I could rush back to my room? No, that was way too risky, and if I got caught, I would never hear the end of it from York and South.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by some whistling in the locker rooms.

"Hey!" I shouted, hoping they could hear me. The whistling stopped and I grinned. "Come over here please!" I called again.

Finally, I would get my towel!

But as soon as the grey and yellow armor appeared in the doorway, all the relief I felt vanished, replaced with dread and embarrassment.

"Oh...hey, W-Washington."

* * *

It was silent for a few moments, I was trying to cover up as much as I could with my arms, and Washington just stood there. He only had his armor on up to his waist, above that was bare, minus his helmet. I couldn't help but let my eyes roam over his broad shoulders and muscular chest. His muscles weren't overly defined, but they were still noticeable. Just how I liked it.

' _Shut up, Cali,'_ Alpha complained.

"Um, I forgot my towel," I voiced, awkwardly staring at the orange visor that stopped me from seeing his face. "Could you bring me one, please?"

Wordlessly, he walked away and I felt slightly offended that he hadn't said anything to me. Usually he tried his best to talk to me, stuttering and fumbling over his words. Now, he hadn't even said one word.

' _Aww, Cal, are you missing all the attention he gives you?'_ Alpha teased. I blushed and shook my head, refusing to answer.

Washington walked back into the showers, holding a light blue towel that I didn't recognize. It wasn't one of the ship's standard white towels, and it definitely wasn't mine, so I figured it was Washington's.

"H-here," he stuttered, placing the towel on the counter before hurrying away.

I smiled a bit at his shyness, and hurried to the towel, wrapping it around myself. It was soft and warm, and was so big it went down to my knees. It felt like a blanket more than a towel, but I wasn't complaining. I smiled even more when I realized there was a giant cat on the towel; I loved cats.

The towel smelled clean and fresh, though I hurried and dried myself off. Once I changed into my clothes, I walked back to my room, not sure if I should give Washington his towel back. It seemed like the right thing to do, but I _did_ quite like cats.

Once back to my room, I hung the towel to dry and tried to decide what I wanted to do. Normally, I slept on days like this, but it was only about 7:30, which meant that the cafeteria would still be open for a while.

My stomach growled, deciding for me. I slipped on some shoes and headed out.

* * *

On my way to the cafeteria, I ran into York.

He had yelled at me from down the hall, saying something about how we matched. I rolled my eyes, and York grinned at me, putting an arm around my shoulders. I considered York as my brother, we were close and I knew I could trust him with anything. Plus, he had that 'protective big brother' thing going on, with everyone, not just me. He really was a great guy, and I knew what Carolina saw in him.

We made our way to the cafeteria, and I spotted our friends sitting at our usual table. Carolina and South were decked out in their armor, along with Washington.

Like always, York and I made a beeline to the food line, but I hesitated when I spotted something quite odd.

"How in the hell is he doing that?" I asked. Washington was eating his breakfast burrito...with his helmet on?

York looked to Washington, chuckled, and began to tell me the story of how they convinced Washington to do that.

"I don't really know _how_ he's doing it though," he said, before turning back to the food line. "Now hurry up, I'd like to get some chorizo and eggs before they run out."

I groaned. " _Noo_ , you know how gassy that makes you, York!" I complained. He just grinned and winked at me.

After getting our food, I sat at the edge of the table next to York, who was next to Carolina. Across from her was South, North, and then Washington.

As I was eating my pancakes, I couldn't help but stare at Washington. I mean, _how was he doing that_?

' _Are you sure that's why you're staring at him?'_ Alpha teased me.

'Shut up,' I answered, then thought about what happened not 20 minutes ago. Was I supposed to give Washington his towel back? Should I even bring it up to him?

Maine saved me from my thoughts when he showed up, grumbling something to Carolina about training. She agreed, and invited South along, which resulted in York and North wanting to watch. I was invited, as well as Washington, however I wasn't finished eating, and Washington said he'd join later.

After that, it was just the two of us.

* * *

It was extremely awkward for me; I had no idea what to do while I was eating. I couldn't help but glance at Washington's helmet every now and then. What was he thinking?

I started to eat a little slower than normal, taking smaller bites. I didn't want to look like a pig in front of Washington.

'Why do I even care?' I asked myself, 'Stop caring.'

' _You know why you care,'_ Alpha said, teasing me once more.

Not being able to take the awkward silence, I spoke.

"How-"

"Are you-"

We spoke at the same time, which caused us to stop speaking altogether. We both chuckled awkwardly, and I felt my face burn. I was secretly hoping that Wash's face was red as well.

"Sorry," I laughed, "go ahead."

He cleared his throat before asking, "A-are you gonna eat your bacon?"

I grinned a bit, handing him the pieces, and asked him my own question.

"Um, how are you doing that?" I asked, referring to him eating with his helmet on.

He swallowed before shrugging, "I dunno, I thought everyone could do it."

"No, Wash," I said, smiling, "I don't think everyone can."

He was silent for a moment, and I wondered if I had done anything wrong. _Oh my gosh, seriously, what's wrong with me? Stop feeling!_

"'Wash?'" he asked, tilting his head slightly.

I felt embarrassment flood my body, "Well, I give all my friends nicknames," I answered, hoping he didn't think I was weird.

Washington nodded slowly. "I didn't know you considered me a friend," he said finally.

Slightly taken aback, I covered it up with a joke, "You've seen me naked, Wash, I think it's okay to call us friends."

Since I couldn't see his facial expression, I had no idea what Wash may be thinking or feeling. God, did I fuck up? _Why does it even matter? It shouldn't matter!_ I reminded myself.

' _Cali, please don't tell me you're_ this _dumb,'_ Alpha spoke. What's that supposed to mean?

Suddenly, Wash's hands lifted up and he began to remove his helmet. My breath hitched and I couldn't help but eagerly wait for this reveal.

Finally, his helmet was completely gone, and my mouth fell open.

I'd never seen someone so _beautiful_.

The first thing I noticed was his eyes. They were two different colors. His left eye was blue, and it reminded me of a vast ocean; vivid, bright, and beautiful. His right eye was grey in color, and I saw the clouds on a dark stormy night. However, it was not dark, it was bright and glistening.

The next thing I studied was Wash's hair. It was shorter on the sides, like it has been shaved, and it was a light brown. His hair was longer on top of his head, and that area was dyed blond. I noticed a feint scar above his left eye, running from his eyebrow to his hairline. Wash's nose fit his face perfectly, though I could tell it had been broken before. I also noticed the freckles that danced over his nose, and spread to his high cheek bones, which were dusted in a faint blush.

Washington's lips were the last things I looked over. They were a pale, pink color, and slightly chapped. Despite that, I couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to kiss those lips. I may have stared at them for a little too long, but I quickly glanced away when they began to move.

"And, _I_ tell my friends my real name," Wash said, a small smile on his face. "It's David. David Washington."

"David," I said softly, smiling at the fact that his state name derived from his real name. "Mine's Lillian Yang."

* * *

 **A/N: Awww some Wash/Cali cuteness! As for the description, that's just how I see Wash idk lol. BUt, thus starts their friendship/relationship :-D**

 **So, I know exactly what I want to do with this story, how it'll end, and I also have the sequel planned, and how I'm gonna add Lily into the storyline.**

 **Anyway, hoped you liked this chapter, it was kind of short and meh, but review and let me know what you think of it. Thank you!**

 **Edit: this chapter was originally two separate chaps, but I just combined them to make it one long chapter.**

 **~Saammmm**


	11. Chapter 11

"Alpha, please don't make me go," I whimpered pitifully, as I sat on my bed.

A few days ago, the Director asked me to see him and the Counselor. They had scheduled for something and wanted to discuss it with me before further plans have been made.

I knew exactly what they were doing. I didn't want to, but it's not like I really had a choice. Alpha, on the other hand, did not know what the Director had planned for us, and I intended to keep it that way. It's not that I _wanted_ to go through with this, I just didn't want Alpha to know that _I_ knew. If he did, he'd know that I was just as bad as the Director.

Alpha sighed, running a hand through his hair, which ended up just gliding through his holographic head. "Cal, I don't know why you're getting so worked up about this. I know neither of us really like him, but we have no choice," he reasoned.

I sighed as well, wanting to waste as much time as possible before I _had_ to see the Director.

"You're right, Alpha." I reluctantly agreed, realizing there wasn't much I could do to waste time.

Alpha nodded and disappeared, allowing me to walk to the Director's office in silence. As I was walking, I tried my best to avoid any other Freelancers, especially Wash. Since we began talking, we've gotten pretty close and comfortable with each other. I was the one who knew the most about him, but he began to open up to C.T. and York. Anyway, if I ran into him now I'd probably freak out on the inside and forget where I was going.

Smiling to myself, I arrived at the Director's office. As soon as I opened the door, my smile was replaced with a frown.

"Agent California, it's been a while," the Counselor said, smiling lightly at me.

I rolled my eyes, but smiled softly back. It _had_ been a while.

"Now, Agent California," the Director started, getting right down to business (to defeat the Huns). "You must remember the process you went through when we created the Omega A.I."

I stared at him with the bitchiest bitch face I could muster. "No. I don't. Because _you_ pissed me off so fucking much that I passed out and then I was unconscious for the next thirteen hours."

It was silent for a moment before the Counselor spoke up, "Well, then I guess you won't be too pleased to know that we're about to do it again."

* * *

That's what left me strapped down to a hospital bed with my back up. I was on my stomach so they could go through the neural implantation on the back of my neck during the surgery, and I was strapped down because I kept trying to fight back.

"You can't do this! You can't hurt me!" I yelled at the Director, not wanting him to go through with his plan.

The Director bent down to where he could meet my eyes. "We won't be hurting _you_."

I didn't believe him at first, but began panicking when I realized what he meant.

"You can't hurt him! Leave the Alpha alone, he never did anything to deserve-" my voice hitched when I felt a slight pinch to my neck.

"...to... t-to deserve...this..." My eyes began to droop and the world started to turn black as I drifted into unconsciousness.

 _Not again_.

* * *

When I woke up this time, I felt exactly like I had the first time. The only difference was I actually remembered who I was, and I wasn't as nauseous.

It was also weird waking up in Recovery and finding myself being the only one in the room. Ever since moving closer with the other agents, we all shared the recovery room and there were at least two people in here at a time.

"Alpha," I said, my voice raspy and barely above a whisper.

I waited for a response, but it never came.

"Alpha," I said a little louder this time, feeling worried. They didn't...remove him, did they? No... _no, they'd never._

"Cal...h-hey," Alpha's quiet voice came. He slowly appeared in front of me, resting on my stomach. He looked tired, and beaten, and hurt, and I felt myself get angry at the thought of my tiny human being in pain.

"Alpha what - are you okay?" I stopped myself from asking him what had happened. I already knew the answer to that question.

Alpha looked up at me, and simply shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. The Director told me that Agent North Dakota was in danger. He wanted me to come up with a way to save him really quickly, and I tried as best as I could, but he told me that North didn't make it."

I felt my heart sink. North? Dead? But, that's not possible!

"And then it just got really quiet, "Alpha continued, "and dark. And then I felt a lot of pain."

My heart raced, "'Pain?' Like, physical pain? But how-"

"I don't know." Alpha's voice was grumpy and cold, and it scared me a little. "I'm just...tired."

I nodded, "O-okay, well go offline, get some...rest," I told him.

Alpha disappeared without another word.

After sitting there for a couple of minutes, I decided to get up and find the Director. After everything that just happened, he had some _serious_ explaining to do.

* * *

"Oh, Agent California, I see you're doing fine," the Counselor said as soon as I ran into him. I scowled at him and clenched my fists at my sides.

"Yes, _I'm_ doing just fine, however, _Alpha_ is not!" I said, ignoring my excruciating headache.

The Counselor stayed calm, like always, and laced his fingers together, resting his hands in front of him.

"The Alpha A.I. is bound to have some side affects, we just created...another A.I.," he said, ending his sentence quietly. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I'll bet you North isn't even dead, is he? He's somewhere on the ship right now," I growled, pissed at what he and the Director had put Alpha through.

The Counselor leaned his head back a little, looking down at me through semi-lidded eyes. "No, Agent North Dakota is not on the ship, however he is not injured. Well, not that we know of."

I crossed my arms, "Then why did - wait, not on the ship? Then where is he?" I asked.

"He, Agent South, and Agent Carolina, are currently on a mission," the Counselor answered.

"Doing what?" I asked, slightly miffed that they had been sent on a mission without me.

"Well, they were assigned to infiltrate an Insurrectionist Research facility and recover a data file."

I frowned, _what's on that data file?_

Suddenly, voices came from down the hall.

The Counselor gave me a little smile, "I believe it is around dinner time. If I were you, I'd go change before eating." With that, he walked away.

Feeling embarrassed, I looked down at what I was wearing and died a little on the inside. They were really short white shorts, a baggy t-shirt (that I was 99% sure I stole from Wash), and some knee-high socks. Panicking as the voices came closer, I dashed down to my room, ignoring the pain in my head once more.

* * *

After putting on some sweats and shoes, I headed over to the mess hall, where I met Wash and York sitting at our table.

"Where've you been all day?" York asked as I took a seat next to him.

"Eh, sleeping, talking with the Director, and I saw the Counselor, too," I told them, ignoring Wash's complaining as I stole one of his tater tots.

I felt a little guilty for not telling them the truth, but I wasn't technically lying, either. I talked to both the Director and the Counselor, _and_ I was knocked out for a good four hours.

"Is...that my shirt?" Wash asked suddenly. "I knew I was missing my favorite shirt." I glanced down at the grey t-shirt I was wearing and blushed slightly, giving him a small nod. Wash grinned, and I noticed his cheeks were covered in a faint blush as well.

Forgetting about his 'favorite shirt,' Wash began taking to York about the other agents' mission, and I just listened. I saw Wash give me the stink eye as I took more of his food, but I noticed him discretely scoot his plate closer to me as he munched on his corn dog. Eventually C.T. showed up and sat next to Wash, following my example as she stole a few of his tater tots as well.

Though I'd never admit it out loud, something bubbled up in me and I stopped eating off of Wash's plate. I even found myself narrowing my eyes as C.T. laughed a little too loudly for my liking at one of Wash's jokes.

 _What's wrong with me? C.T. and I are friends, so are me and Wash! Why is this bothering me?_ I asked myself, though I knew exactly why.

Despite how I was feeling, I couldn't help but sneak glances at David every now and then. It made me happy to know that he was getting more comfortable around everyone, and that he was able to take his helmet off. He had told me he was embarrassed and insecure about his heterochromia, although I never understood why. I thought his eyes were absolutely _gorgeous_ , but I've never actually told him that.

Finding myself lost in the deep seas of blue and grey, my thoughts (rudely) interrupted as York shouted at someone behind us.

"Hey! Look who's back!" he called, grinning and waving. I turned around and saw a tired North, South, and Carolina come trudge over to our table.

Knowing Carolina wanted to sit next to York, I stood up and let her have my seat. Frowning, I noticed David had slid his helmet back on before the others sat down. I figured this was my chance to sit next to him, but North plopped down there as I was moving. Unbeknownst to him, I glared at North because he forced me to sit at the end of the table, which made me even _farther_ from David then I was before.

Deciding that crushes were completely overrated, I placed my head on the table and silently cursed David Washington for being so _darn_ _cute_.


	12. Chapter 12

The next day was terrible for me. I felt dead; I was extremely tired and my upper back and my neck were still sore from the surgery. According to Carolina and C.T., I had extremely noticeable bags under my eyes. Already being grumpy, hearing that didn't approve my mood much.

"Gee, thanks 'Lina. You sure know how to make a girl blush," I grumbled, taking a sip from my second cup of coffee.

She rolled her eyes and gave me a 'really?' look, "I'm only saying it cause C.T. was too afraid to."

The said girl stifled a laugh before giving a playful glare in Carolina's direction.

"All I'm saying is that you've got about thirty bags under each eye," Carolina shrugged, stealing my coffee from me.

C.T. once again tried to hide her laughter as I glared at both of them.

The three of us had been on the training floor, waiting for the other agents to show before we began training. I had hardly heard from Alpha since he logged off, only to wake me up and wish me 'good luck' for the day. I felt extremely bad for the guy, who knows what he was going through right now.

"Anyway," C.T. said once she had calmed down, "why are you so worn out? What did you do yesterday?"

Hesitating, I quickly thought of an excuse while my eyes darted around nervously. "Um, just couldn't sleep. That's all."

Carolina nodded in understanding, though something flashed in her eyes that told me she didn't believe me. C.T., however, seemed oblivious to my lie, and smirked at me.

"Too busy thinking about a certain someone?" she asked, all too knowingly. Immediately I felt my face burn as I tried to deny it.

"N-no, no I-I, um, I..." I sighed, realizing there was no point in trying to lie anymore. " _Fine_ , I may have a...lertleturnycurshurndervd," I mumbled.

Both C.T. and Carolina raised an eyebrow, "You have a what?"

I groaned, hiding my red face in my hands, "I may have a...a little, tiny crush on David."

Sneaking a glance at the girls through my fingers, C.T. grinned at me, and Carolina still looked extremely confused.

"Who the hell is David?"

"Why, this tall drink of water right here!"

C.T., Carolina, and I turned around to see York, Wash, and North making their way over to us. They were all wearing their armor, but I assumed David was feeling embarrassed, due to the fact that North and York were making fun of him.

"'Tall drink of water?' Hahahaha, dude! It's tall _glass_ of water!" York laughed, patting Wash on the shoulder.

"Haha, yeah, _anyway_ ," David said, obviously changing the conversation, "Why were you talking about me?"

C.T. and Carolina awkwardly laughed as I gave them my best 'I will fucking murder you' look.

"No reason," Carolina said quickly, "Who wants to train with me?"

* * *

After training for a few hours, I decided to hit the showers and make my way back to my room. Knowing nothing else was planned, I just laid down in bed for a while, having a conversation with Alpha out loud. However, it was interrupted when someone knocked on the door.

Alpha disappeared and I murmured out a, "come in," before sitting up on my bed. Wash entered my room, in his armor like usual, but his helmet was off. His hair was a little ruffled and his cheeks were slightly red. I felt my own cheeks burn as I looked into his eyes, admiring their beauty.

"Hey, Cal? Can I talk to you?" he asked hesitantly.

I smiled softly. "Course, Wash. What's up?"

He closed my door and walked towards my bed, plopping down next to me as he placed his helmet on the floor.

"I don't know, it's about Con-C.T. She was, well, I don't really know how to explain it," he sighed.

I rolled my eyes and scooted a little closer to him, bare leg brushing against the cold metal of his armor. "Wash? What's goin' on?"

He ran a hand through his hair, making it messier than it already was. "After our mission, she was...angry at herself. She was mad at herself for messing up, them she said something about the Director screwing with us."

I was silent at first, unsure of how to answer. "...What do you mean?"

Wash shook his head, looking at the ceiling, "I-I don't know. Connie went on about some line thing, and how the Director is trying to 'filter us' or something. Do you have any idea what she meant?"

"Uh, no!" I said quickly, wanting to change the topic. "She's probably just...worked up about what happened. I-I'll talk to her later," I assured him, rubbing my face and resting my hand on my cheek. When did I start getting so tired?

"Sounds good. What about you, are you okay?" he asked me, looking at me in concern with his blue and grey eyes. I think his left eye was my favorite. Nothing against the color grey, but his left eye was just so bright and amazing, and I couldn't help but-

"Cal? Did you hear me?"

I blinked and sat up, looking at the wall across from me. "Uh, yeah! Yeah, no, yeah, I'm fine, why?" I sputtered out, face turning red as I glanced around the room.

Wash, thankfully, didn't seem to notice my nervousness. "I don't know, just...you seem a little...off," he said.

I chuckled dryly, "'A little off?' Now, I'm-I'm fine, Wash."

"Cal," he started, and I looked away, "Cali." He placed a hand under my chin, gently pulling me towards him. "Hey, Lily, look at me."

I stayed quiet, and he awkwardly brought down his hand, mumbling a 'sorry' as his cheeks turned red.

I sighed, "I'm just...tired. I'm just really tired."

Wash looked at me, eyes glittering as he tilted his head slightly. He sighed and shook his head, smiling softly, before slowly reaching his hand back up to my face. I held my breath as he placed a strand of hair behind my ear. I couldn't feel his skin, but the material of his gloved fingered tickled me nonetheless.

"David, I-"

There was a knock at my door.

It seemed to startle us both out of our trance, Wash jumped and retracted his hand. I slumped my shoulders and looked away, feeling extremely disappointed and irritated at whoever interrupted our moment.

"Come in," I said once more, and Wash silently scooted over, making me feel more disappointed.

Suddenly, North's head popped in, asking if we'd like to join him on a walk. Deciding we had nothing better to do (though I could think of a _thousand_ things I'd rather do), I put my armor back on, and North, Wash, and I began making our way around the Mother of Invention.

* * *

"So, Wash," North said, breaking the silence. "I heard you had a meeting with the internals."

Wash glanced back at him, "Oh. You did?"

"Yeah, do you mind if I asked what it was about?" he asked.

"You've peaked my interest," I added, "Do tell, Wash."

Wash grunted before replying, " I'm not really supposed to talk about that."

"Help me out here!" North complained, "I'm still getting heat about using equipment in the field!"

It was my turn to glance at North. "You did? Really? W-without a pipeline back to the Command server?!" _Holy shit!_

North shrugged. "I had to improvise. We had a problem."

"Lemme guess, "Wash rolled his eyes, "are you related to that problem?"

"Wash-"

"Okay," North said, chuckling dejectedly, "now I don't wanna talk about it."

"Equipment in the field..." I murmured, "Don't forget what happened to Utah during training. You're lucky to be alive." ' _You're one to talk_.'

'Shut up, Alpha.'

North shrugged again. "If I was lucky, I wouldn't have needed to use it at all."

"Well, you can relax. Internals didn't ask about you. It was something else," Wash reassured North. A soldier suddenly zoomed past us, though North and Wash didn't pay him any attention.

"Lot's of questions," Wash continued as more soldiers ran past us, "about the insurrection and transmissions coming out of our-" suddenly one soldier rammed into him, and Wash realized everyone was running in the same direction.

"Sorry, sir!"

"Hey, what's going on?" I asked.

"Soldier, where is everybody running?" Wash added.

The white soldier answered, "New agent. He's squaring off against Maine, Wyoming, and York on the training room floor. We're going to watch!" he turned to his buddies. "Hey guys, wait up!" before running off after them.

"Three on one?" North asked, obviously impressed.

"I gotta see this."

"Yeah, me too."

"Right behind you guys."

* * *

We hurriedly made our way to the training floor, arriving just as F.I.L.S.S began counting down. Immediately recognizing the new recruit's black armor, I grinned underneath my helmet, understanding why she wanted to go three on one.

This was just a warm up for her.

When the training began, Tex was easily able to knock the three other agents down.

"What's going on down there?" Carolina asked, concerned. "There's no more training on schedule."

"It's impromptu," South stated.

"Who the hell is that?" Carolina asked again, obviously aggravated. Silently, I grinned to myself.

"Some new recruit," South answered once more.

"Wow," Wash said, amazed, "he sure doesn't move like he's a recruit."

I smirked and crossed my arms at him, feigning anger. 'that's cause she's _not.'_ "Why do you assume it's a guy? _She's_ a _girl_."

Wash glanced at me, stuttering and glancing around the room. "Oh. I-I didn't really mean that he...I mean it - I mean her, I-I..."

North began chuckling mid sentence, however I just rolled my eyes, grinning slyly.

"Right."

"Sorry," Wash mumbled.

"Just shut up," South interrupted.

"All three of you, can it." Carolina snapped.

South laughed dryly, "Sounds like someone might be a little concerned about their position. What about you, Cali? Miss 'Number One?'"

I laughed in response, knowing full on well that Tex couldn't beat me. She's tried one too many times. "Yeah, right. I'd like to see her try." 'Again.'

"Hey, South?" Carolina said, "Pay attention. You might actually learn something if you stop running your mouth for a minute."

"Hey, Carolina?" I mimicked, " Leave her alone, I won't tolerate bullying on my team. You seem to forget, you're still one rank beneath me."

Staying quiet, Carolina focused back on the match, as did the rest of us.

"Round one, over," F.I.L.S.S.' voice came, "Point, Texas. The current score is: Team 1, 0-"

"Texas, huh?" Wash stated, more to himself than anyone.

Carolina frowned, "I thought that name was reserved.."

"Nice moves," Wash complimented, shrugging.

"Could be luck."

I placed a hand on Carolina's shoulder, "Or, could be talent."

She looked away, "We'll see."

F.I.L.S.S, began the next round, hand to hand combat. Maine attempted to go in, but he was punched to the ground, the same with Wyoming right after. I could tell York was trying to make a plan, but no one listened to him. While he was distracted, Tex appeared behind him and punched him as well.

"Ooh, shit," I winced. "He's gonna feel that one tomorrow."

North nodded his head, "Wow, okay! That was pretty impressive."

Everyone silently agreed, though Carolina looked pissed.

Once again, York attempted to make a plan, but he was promptly ignored once more. Giving up, he just joined the "fuck it" team, though they were all beat up again.

' _That's good ol' Tex for ya.'_ Alpha chuckled, and I agreed.

Soon, that round was over, and it was time for the lock-down paint scenario.

"Ugh, I hate that paint," Wash complained.

"Tell me about it," South agreed. "Stings like a bitch."

North nodded in agreement as well, "Turns your armor hard as rock."

Carolina and I grinned. "We wouldn't know," she teased.

I chuckled, "Yeah, it's not so bad if you don't let it his you."

'Lina and I fist bumped.

"Thanks," Wash replied sarcastically," I'll try to remember that."

"Round three in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Round begin."

Almost immediately, Maine and Wyoming were shot. York lasted a little bit longer, he was able to hide, but Tex eventually found him as well.

And that's how it went, over and over and over.

"Point, Texas." F.I.L.S.S. would constantly repeat, as the agents not training would yell advice that went unheard by the agents on the floor.

Carolina pulled me off to the side in the middle of the 5th or 6th round.

"You can't tell me you're not a little worried about your spot."

"Nah, I know Texas can't beat me. She's failed so many times."

"Wait, you _know_ her?"

Thankfully, F.I.L.S.S. interrupted so I didn't have to answer.

"What?" Wash suddenly said. "Are they using live rounds on the training floor?"

South rolled her eyes, "Looks like it."

"Th-that's against protocol! They're going to kill her!"

"Probably."

"No, they won't," I said.

Was turned to me, "Someone should get the Director."

C.T. snorted, "Who do you think gave them the ammo?"

"Watch you mouth, C.T.," Carolina snapped.

I sighed and looked down, not paying much attention, despite the fact that this was the most exciting - I mean dangerous - round.

I did look up, however, when someone gasped. I spotted a grenade right by York, who was struggling to get up. Tex began to shoot him with the paint, forming a sort of protective shell around him.

' _Smart move._ '

'You know Tex.'

The bomb went off, and York screamed.

I couldn't tell who was yelling afterword.

"York!"

"Shit!"

"Damn it! Those maniacs!"

We all rushed down to York as Carolina called for a medical team. The alarm sounded as we reached York. He was laying on the floor, groaning. The visor on his helmet was shattered but other than that, he looked unharmed.

"York - York! Get over here, now!" Carolina yelled at the medics. "Come on, York. Hang in there," she said, a lot more quiet this time.

York groaned again and I felt my heart skip a beat. He was my best friend, my _brother_. What if something happened to him?

Without thinking, I laced my fingers through Wash's, though he didn't seem to mind, his gloved hand squeezing mine in return.

"I can't believe she did that to him," South muttered. "Shot his armor, sacrificed him."

I began to feel angry, wanting to defend Tex. "Lock down hardens the armor, South. She was trying to save his life." _Hopefully it worked_.

"Quick thinking," North mused.

"Yeah, _really_ quick," Carolina spat.

Suddenly, the Director walked in. And he was furious.

"Everyone! Stand down! Now!"

Reluctantly, we all stood at attention, even Carolina.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves!" the Director shouted. "I expect you to act as a team!"

"They used live ammunition on the floor, sir," Wash said.

"Agent Washington is right, sir," I stepped forward. "That's against regulations."

Unexpectedly, the Director stepped towards me quickly, forcing me to step back. "Do you think our enemies will care about regulations on the battlefield, Agent California?"

I flinched and looked down. "N-no, sir..."

He frowned and turned away. Wash, however, decided he wasn't finished.

"So, you're not punishing them?"

I nudged his side with my elbow, and he glanced at me. "It's not worth it," I mumbled to him.

"Ingenuity and adaptability are admirable traits! You should all learn something from this. Dismissed!" he began to walk away.

I groaned and slapped the top of my helmet and York groaned once more.

"Yeah, we should learn something alright," C.T. said sarcastically, chuckling dryly.

Wash was obviously still pissed as he shook his head, "I can't believe this!"

I sighed and gripped his hand once more, giving it a reassuring squeeze. He looked at me, and though I couldn't see his face clearly because of his orange visor, I could tell it relaxed him.

"Don't forget to check your place on that list, Wash," C.T. stated before walked away. I narrowed my eyes at her, not entirely sure what she meant, though I knew it had something to do with their conversation from earlier.

"C'mon," Wash began to pull me away. I hesitated at first, wanting to check on Tex, but I decided that could wait. After all, she was Agent fucking Texas, she could take care of herself.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey, so I know this is loooooong overdue, and I apologize deeply for that. I guess I sorta lost my momentum. At first I was like 'yeah whoo, I can write!' but rn I'm sorta like meh. I'm not giving up, and it's not like I have writer's block or anything, I guess I'm just super stressed about school and family stuff. Finals are coming up and my dad, who I haven't seen for like 4 years, decides to just show up and try and wedge himself back into my life. So yeah. Anyway, I feel like there's several mistakes and I was really repetitive with certain adjectives, I am just sooo tired and in a hurry to update. Hope you guys like it and I'll update as soon as I can!**

 **~Saammmm :-D**


	13. Chapter 13

The next day went on as normal. Still miffed from the last training session, nobody trained today. I hadn't seen Tex since the yesterday either, though I was hoping I'd find her.

That's what caused me to walk around the Mother of Invention's halls, glancing in every nook and cranny I could to find the black armor clad woman. To keep myself occupied, I had a silent conversation with Alpha, who seemed to be doing a lot better since the last A.I. was created. I was just getting over the headaches when the Counselor told me I was scheduled for another surgery tomorrow.

I was pissed off, and tried to argue against it, but the Director had none of it. He claimed that he was planning on giving me more time to rest, but due to the 'mishap' I caused yesterday, he cut my time short.

Completely ridiculous, I said like five words!

' _Well I hope after going through this several times, the pain goes away. We should get used to it, right?'_

I didn't answer, simply taking Alpha's comment into account. I mean, that made sense, right? You'd think we'd get used to it, but how was Alpha supposed to get used to being literally _torn apart_.

Sighing, I turned a corner and ended up running into Connie. Excuse me, _C.T._ , she hated being called 'Connie.'

Judging from her sweats and tank top, I assumed she wasn't training today either. I would be wearing the same, but I remembered we had a mission today, so I was wearing my armor.

"Hey, Cal, sweet. Can I talk to you for a sec?" she asked, looking down the hall to make sure we were alone.

I nodded. "What's up?"

"Have you noticed anything...suspicious going on lately?"

"No," I frowned, "what do you mean exactly?"

"Well, I...I just-" she glanced around once more before lowering her voice. "I think that the Director is up to something."

I raised an eyebrow. "'Up to something?'"

She nodded eagerly before spouting out some theory about where the other A.I. came from.

"I mean, they had to come from somewhere, right? And honestly, I think there's only supposed to be one. I found something, and I probably _shouldn't_ be telling you this, but I'm-"

"Agent California, Agent Connecticut, would you please meet with the Director and the other Agents for your next assignment?" F.I.L.S.S.' voice rang through the hall, interrupting CT.

"Shit! I forgot we had a mission! I'll be right there!" she called before running off, most likely to her room. I rolled my eyes, but smirked at her forgetfulness. Placing my helmet on my head, I decided it would be best to get there as soon as I could, so the Director wouldn't get anymore mad at me.

* * *

"Okay! Well, I just ran everything again. All calculations are up to date. Taking into all standard delays for communication and response time. Our window...looks good!"

"I agree."

I rolled my eyes and Alpha gave me his signature 'this fucker' look. "Uh, yeah, well, you should. I'm sure you'd make the same calculations I did. Just, you know, more slowly."

I snickered and gave Alpha a mental hi-five.

The Director turned his gaze on the A.I. floating next to me, green eyes filled annoyance.

"Arrogance is a rather unbecoming trait, Alpha."

"Are you seriously giving _him_ a lecture on arrogance right now?" I scoffed, before noticing someone walk towards us.

I was about to warn the Director, but Al beat me to it. "Heads up, you've got a visitor."

"Director-"

"Log off," the Director said.

"On it."

"Yeah yeah, way ahead of ya,'" Alpha disappeared.

The Director turned around and I stood next to him nodding at Carolina.

"Yes, Agent Carolina?"

"The team is ready, sir."

"Excellent. Let us begin."

I followed the Director, and Carolina looked at me suspiciously when we passed. Did she see Alpha?

"Agents," the Director started, "you mission today is by far the most important you've undertaken to date. A our number one, Agent California, with the help of our number two, Agent Carolina, will be leading from the field."

The Director nodded at me and Carolina and I stood at the head of the counter thing (?).

"Okay, so, here's what we have," I started. "As you may have heard, there is suspected Insurrection activity in this area."

As I said that, I noticed C.T. glance away, looking down at her hands as if she was guilty of something. It reminded me of how strange she's been acting recently, and I hesitated before speaking again. Noticing my troubles, Carolina stepped in.

As she was talking, she pressed a button and a hologram of the building formed on the table.

"What does security look like?" Wyoming asked.

Having regained my train of though, I answered, "Well, there's enough troops to fill a 110 story building."

"So," Wash muttered, "That's a lot of security."

Carolina nodded, "We're up to it."

I rolled my eyes (fondly) at Carolina's arrogance. She was determined, but _extremely_ cocky.

' _You're one to talk.'_

"Anyway, our job is to infiltrate the building, work our way to the floor where the sarcophagus is being held, and secure it," I explained.

North cocked his head to the side, "The 'sarcophagus?'"

"That is what we're calling the primary objective," the Director answered before I could.

" _B_ _ut_ , since this is a high-level asset, we need to assess a key code to open the sarcophagus."

Wash snorted, "And I'm guessing they don't just keep that strapped to the side?"

"Unfortunately," I mumbled. It would probably make our lives a lot easier.

"It's held by an official of the program who will be moving in a vehicle along the freeway between inspections," Carolina continued. " That's when we'll hit the facility."

I nodded, "Right. We'll need to acquire both targets within minutes of each other. If we fail that-"

"-the remaining target will enter lock-down, and we miss our window." I glared at Carolina for cutting me off.

"We will _not_ have another chance at this," the Director said.

"So, that means two teams?" Wash asked.

I nodded again, "Two teams. Team A will consist of me, Carolina, Wash, and Maine. We will work infiltration on the package's storage facility. York is still in the infirmary, so that means Was will take over lock picking duty."

Wash tilted his head, thoroughly confused. "Me? Well, alright, I guess that means I have to reread my field manual."

I chuckled and opened my mouth to speak, but another voice cut me off.

"Hey, don't be so quick to give my job away, Cali."

"York?"

Turning around, it sure enough was. I frowned, not because I wasn't glad to see him, but because I knew for a fact he was supposed to be in the infirmary until tomorrow.

Carolina walked over to meet him halfway to the door. She said something I couldn't necessarily hear, but their conversation got louder as they walked back to the table.

"..it's okay, docs are lettin' me out tomorrow."

"Tomorrow, huh?" Wash asked skeptically.

"Look," York held his hands up," I couldn't let you guys have all the fun without me. 'Sides, you need someone to get you in."

I sighed and shrugged, not completely agreeing with it, but not dejecting the idea either. Wash took Carolina to the side, most likely to talk about York being here.

"Hey, York says he's good, then he's good."

Wash looked at me, "Technically, it's Cali's call."

Everyone looked at me and I shrugged in response. "...I guess... I mean, I trust York's judgement."

The Director set his hands on the table. "It's settles then. York will join Team A and get them in the facility."

"Thank you, sir."

I noticed something a little off about the teams. Five of us on Team A? That means only 3 on Team B. "But Director, that means-"

"Transport will be lightly equipped pelican drop ships," Carolina said, cutting me off once more. She seemed to have a really bad habit of doing that.

"We're rigged for fast running only, people," the 479er pilot said. "No heavy armament."

It finally seemed to register to the Director that I had said something. "California, was there something you had to say?"

"Yes, sir. With York on Team A-"

"What about it?"

" _With York on Team A_ ," I said more forcefully, openly glaring at Carolina, "that means that Team B will have North, Wyoming, and CT. I'm not saying they can't handle themselves, but wouldn't it make more sense if York-"

"York needs to get us in. If we're moving anyone, it would be Wash. We don't need him as much...sorry." I could tell she wasn't sorry.

"Yeah, it-it's cool."

" _Carolina-_ "

" _Now_ , Team B will act as recon for Team A," deciding it was pointless to argue against her, I shut up and listened to Carolina. "Once we enter the building, you will disengage to attack the target on the freeway." When she finished speaking, she glanced at me, as if expecting something.

'Of fucking course you don't need me to play leader role, but as soon as we have to make decisions-'

 _'Cali, focus. Carolina isn't the enemy.'_

I sighed, "Right, um... North will lead Team B."

"Got it."

"What about Agent South?" CT asked suddenly, taking me by surprise.

"Agent South will not be accompanying you on this mission," the Director answered.

I figured that would be the end of that conversation, but CT never knows when to shut up.

"Hmm, guess the world's a tough place when you move down a rank. And where's our new recruit? Will she be joining us?"

"That's enough questions, Agent Connecticut," I snapped.

"Noticed she didn't say 'no?'" she whispered to Carolina, who glared in return.

"Team B shall be simple," 'Lina continued. "Stop the vehicle, and grab the case. Team A, we have more of a challenge."

"She's right," I picked up. "The sarcophagus is...unknown."

Wash stepped forward, "Uh, how unknown are we talking?"

"Well, unknown in that we don't know its size or its weight or its dimensions. We just know it will have these markings somewhere on the exterior," I answered as the hologram changed from the building to the symbol.

"I saw those same markings on the oil platform," North said.

The Director nodded, "Correct. That facility created the primary object."

"Do we know what's inside?" Wash asked.

"Yes, we know," I answered before stopping myself.

CT shook her head. "How do we know what's inside, but not how big it is?"

She noticed the Director looking at her. "Sorry, sir."

"We have a job to do people, let's do it right," Carolina said.

"And come home safely!" I added.

"That's all," the Director said. "You are dismissed."

We stood at attention and said together, "Yes, sir!" before moving to our assigned ships.

* * *

"This seat taken?"

I looked up to Wash referring to the seat next to me.

"N-no! Go ahead," I said, strapping myself to the seat.

He nodded and sat, securing himself as well. We sat quietly for a while, the ship took off and 479er began to fly us to our destination.

I took a quick glance at Wash and smiled to myself. I mean, he wanted to sit next to me!

God, I feel like such a little girl. Why am I worrying about these kind of things right now? Not only have I _never_ felt like this around a guy, but we're in the middle of a mission. Get a hold of yourself!

 _'You ever wonder that maybe it's something more than a crush?'_

I mentally glared at Alpha, but physically glared at Maine, who was sitting across from me.

'No. And its not. I don't even like him like that, we're friends.'

 _'Cali, I can literally read your mind. You're not fooling anyone here.'_

'Shut up.'

Suddenly, North spoke over our radio, and I put my focus back on our task.

" _Team A, you look clear. Window is open. Start you clocks on my mark...Mark."_

"Sync."

"Roger that. Team A is moving," I said.

 _"Copy that, California. Good luck, Team A,'_ North responded.

"Thanks."

"We won't need it," Carolina said.

With that, we moved out.

Once in the building, Wash, Maine and I began looking around, on the lookout for any Insurrectionists (is that an actual thing?) as Carolina and York made their way to the lock.

"How long to crack that lock?'

"Should take about 60 seconds. You can give me 15."

However, as he got closer to the lock, he seemed to get less cocky. "Wow. Is that holographic?"

Their conversation grew quiet as they talked more privately, and I continued to keep my guard up. York may be amazing with locks, but one can never-

Suddenly, an alarm went off.

"Hey, guys?"

Still, the door opened. "Everybody in!"

"Thanks York," I said, "but please do something about the alarm system."

"Yeah, we don't need anymore surprises."

"Does saying sorry count as something?"

Carolina glared at him for a good ten seconds.

"Mm, guess not."

"Guys, stop flirting, we have a mission," I joked (but sort of not joking bc I was still salty lina from earlier (who dares cut me off?)).

"I could say the same to you and Wash."

"What?" Wash asked.

"What."

"Carolina, can we focus please?"

She smirked at me before talking to York, "We'll secure the package. Set some trackers and then find us a way out of this."

"Moving."

When we entered the next room, I took charge. "Alright everyone, spread out. What we need is in here somewhere. It's probably something small, easy to miss."

Carolina nodded, "Take as many scans as possible. There may be other things we can use here."

As soon as Carolina said that, Maine found a really scary looking knife/gun, and picked it up. He looked at Wash and I from across the table where he got his weapon and held it against his armor, as if posing for us.

"That's a good look," Wash said awkwardly. I nodded in agreement and the three of us turned to walk in separate directions.

Noticing Carolina was on the radio, I walked over to her. Did York have something important to say? If so, why didn't he radio the whole team? Or at least me (the damn leader).

"Alright team, we're about to have company," she said to us.

"Great," I muttered, cocking my rifle.

"Hey, boss...es," Wash said, jogging over to Carolina and I. "I have good news and bad news."

"Hit me," I said. "Us?"

He gave a breathy laugh before explaining his 'news' to us. "Well, we found the markings we're looking for. The bad news is:...they're on _that_."

We looked over to where he was pointing and I felt extremely dejected looking at the giant sarcophagus.

"That?"

Before anyone could respond, York spoke over the radio.

" _Team A, I got an exit up here. Straight up the stairwell, door to the roof, helipad."_

"Copy," I said, "I'll radio air support."

"How are we supposed to get _that_ on the roof?" Carolina asked, though no one answered.

' _Cal, remember that window washing unit we passed?'_

'Yeah...why?'

Alpha didn't respond, but suddenly, I got an idea. Immediately, I radioed York.

"York, I saw a window washing unit when we came in. Can you find where it attaches to the building?" I asked.

 _"Uh, I dunno, that's a little tough, let me see what I can do."_

Wash stepped closer to me, "What are you doing?"

"Improvising. Come here, Maine."

"Improvising? I _hate_ it when we do that!"

* * *

 **A/N: Late update again yes I knowooowoww but I mean it's finals and I'm like super stressed, but my last day of school is Wednesday so hopefully I can start updating regularly again. Anyway, this chapter was originally supposed to be longer, but my eyes burn and I want to get it out as soon as possible to yeah! Also, I don't mean to make Carolina seem like a total bitch, I love her, she's awesome, but we know she's pretty arrogant n stuff. But we're just seeing everyone through Cali's eyes I guess, and she is jealous of her. California wants to be the best and she's scared cause she thinks that without alpha she's a terrible soldier (there will be more depth to this later in the story and I don't mean to give spoilers, but it's quite obvious she's grown very attached to the AI. Wanna see how she reacts when he's taken away from her? (-: )**

 **Oooh ooh also B4 I 4get, hopefully/probably more Wash/Cali action soon? I want to begin building they're relationship, but I don't want it to be like in the middle of a mission and like "hey guess what I love you haha k"**

 **Anyway, hope you guys like this chapter! It's kinda trash, but review n lemme know anyway lmao**

 **~Saaammmm**


	14. Chapter 14

"You guys better hurry!" Agent Washington called as he spotted the locked door beginning to be cut (burnt - _melted_ ) by the Insurrectionists.

He glanced behind him as Agent California was helping Agent Maine strap himself in. Cali had the brilliant idea to move the sarcophagus onto the window washing unit. Maine, being the only one heavy enough to counterbalance the container, would jump off and shoot the sarcophagus to the roof.

It should work. Hopefully.

"Too hard," Maine grunted.

Carolina rolled her eyes and responded, "Oh, don't be a baby," before kicking him off the building.

"Carolina-"

Cali was interrupted when the light blue armored woman shot the lift, shooting the sarcophagus to it's landing point.

Almost immediately, York spoke to them over their radio.

" _Package is secure."_

"Good-" Cal was cut off once again by screams from down below.

"...well, that ought to buy us some time."

Wash took a quick glance down the side of the building as Maine began to take on the Insurrectionists by himself.

"You know, I almost feel bad for the people down there," he mused, mostly to himself.

"Don't."

Wash gave Carolina an incredulous look.

"Hey, he said 'almost,'" California defended, before receiving a look from Carolina.

"See?! Yeah - thank you!"

"Oh, y-you're welcome!"

"Can it, lovebirds!"

And the door broke down, and all hell broke loose.

For the Insurrectionists of course. The agents let off about three bullets each before all the men were down. Except for one asshole, who slowly stepped forward, revealing his shark themed helmet, and a not so friendly looking flamethrower.

"What the fuck is with this guy?" Wash asked, before diving out of the way to avoid the blast of fire. "Whoa, that's hot!"

'Like dat ass,' Cali couldn't help but think.

' _Cal,'_ Alpha groaned, ' _Not a good time - look out!'_

All three agents began to shoot the man, but the bullets didn't seem to affect him in anyway. He just took another step and shot fire at them, forcing them to move.

Wash, finding his courage, as well as being pumped with adrenaline, jumped up and threw a grenade, but it was unfortunately destroyed by the fire.

It seemed to be Carolina's turn to do something heroic, and she attempted to shoot, but was thrown back when the fire was met with an odd looking green gun.

As Carolina landed, Was found the golden opportunity to redeem himself, and grabbed the gun. He aimed at Sharky and shot, but the (giant) bullet bounced and blew up behind him.

"What the hell? It _bounces_?! _Who designs a gun that_ _bounces_?! That's gotta be the worst gun ev-" the end of his sentence turned into a quite unmanly shriek when he was suddenly tackled to the side. Something pretty heavy landed on him, as Wash noticed fire blow right where he was just seconds before.

He glanced up, coming face to face (helmet to helmet?) with California's visor.

"Stay low," she told him, before running away, avoiding the fire. She jumped and began to run up the wall, using her grav boots. When she was high enough, Cali jumped and flipped in midair, landing on the purple device that was handing from the ceiling.

"She's a fucking spider monkey?" Wash whispered to Carolina from their spot still on the ground.

Up in the air, Cali stuck a grenade on the purple machine and kicked it in Sharky's direction, sending pieces flying towards him.

California landed on the ground (quite epically, she must add), and glanced over at Wash and Carolina, who both looked surprised, impressed, and a little scared. She finished off by throwing a large piece of debris she found at Sharky, effectively finishing him.

Carolina and Washington, Wash being a bit more hesitant, walked to Agent California.

"That guy was a dick," Wash commented, still salty about the stupid bouncing gun.

Cali smirked and chuckled softly under her helmet. "Come on, let's get moving guys."

The three agents began walking towards the door, where York would be waiting.

"That bit with the purple plane?" Carolina muttered. "That was just showing off."

This time, Cali broke out in a full on laugh, "Don't act like you wouldn't have done the same thing."

When they reached the door, York immediately began to hurry them through. When it was effectively shut, they began to jog toward the extraction sight, Carolina in the lead, Cali in the middle, and York and Wash pulling up the rear.

"Hey," York wondered, "Where's Maine?"

"Downstairs," Cali answered, voice coming out rushed and breathy as she ran. And though Washington would never ever admit this to anyone, he couldn't help but wonder if this is what she may sound like when talking during sex. Finding the thought both embarrassing and provocative, he felt blood rush to his face as well as somewhere lower.

"Keeping our hosts occupied."

"Man," York sighed, "I almost feel bad for them."

"That's what I said!" Wash exclaimed, forgetting the previous thoughts from before.

Cali rolled her eyes, and Carolina contacted 479er about evacuation. Alpha giggled like a school girl when 'Lina said, 'Team Alpha."

' _If only they knew.'_

"Come on!" York said, referring to where the sarcophagus was located. 'it's up...here..."

Everyone stopped when they noticed a familiar black armored agent in front of them, leaning over something.

Carolina was the first to step forward. "You? What are you doing here? ... Is that a bomb? I knew it!"

"Carolina-"

"It was _you_ who blew up the oil platform!"

Wash stepped over to stand next to Cali and Carolina. "That thing blew up?"

"Somebody's been covering our tracks," California explained. "Tex-" she stopped herself before she could reveal too much.

Carolina didn't seem to notice her mistake, and continued to question Tex, until York stopped her.

"Hey, hate to break up the reunion here, but we got a problem."

As if on cue, the door open and UNSC soldiers opened the door and ran through, their CO yelling commands at his soldiers.

"Drop your weapons!" he ordered, and the agents had no choice but to oblige. "You," he shouted at York, "dickhead! Disarm the bomb!"

"Alright, easy, easy," York said, slowly making his way to the bomb as the Commanding Officer had his gun pointed at him.

"Just fucking do it already!"

"Easy, easy, man," York said, taking a look at the bomb. "Uh...this isn't a bomb, it's a transmitter."

The CO sighed in relief, "Alright it's not a bomb...wait. What's it transmitting?"

As the CO and Agent York were talking, the other soldiers became distracted as a red light beamed down from the sky. Taking this golden opportunity, agents Tex, Carolina, and California attacked, using stealth units. Carolina disguised herself as a UNSC soldier, Tex went invisible, and Cali zoomed off, using her super speed.

"What the hell?" The CO screeched, looking around to see only two agents remaining. "There were five of them! What the fuck!?"

One by one, Carolina, Texas, and California began to pick off the UNSC soldiers. Carolina was right in the middle of a big group, and began taking them down. Tex, still invisible, took out soldiers more stealthily, as they looked around confused and scared, only to be killed seconds later. Cali just shot around like a mad man, soldiers barely seeing a white blur before being taken out.

Also while this was going on, the transmitter gave the MOI the agents' location, and the ship shot down, causing an explosion and everyone to be knocked to the ground.

Not only did it affect all the soldiers, the building began to crumble down as well. The Agents, not really knowing if 479er was there, but hoping she would be anyway, began running to the end of the building.

"This _must_ be karma for kicking Maine out of a window!" Carolina shouted, preparing to jump.

"I don't wanna do thiiiiiiiis!" York yelled back as he jumped.

"Son of a biiiitch!" Came Cali's scream, as she jumped as well.

As they fell, 479er came into view, the large doors opening up so the Sarcophagus could land inside. Carolina landed on the sarcophagus, using her gravity boots to line it up with the doors and shoot oncoming UNSC planes and officers. She jumped off and Agent Washington took her place, shooting at the officers as he rode on the giant container.

Out of nowhere, Tex came flying in on her jet pack, and pushed the sarcophagus, along with Wash, into 479er. Without missing a beat, she flipped around and grabbed Cali's ankle. Said agent yelped as she was flung into Wash, the impact giving the final shove as both agents (and the sarcophagus) landed in the ship.

"Ahh!"

"Ow."

"Shit, sorry," Wash mumbled, seeing that he landed on Cali. Had this been a different location, and had they been wearing less clothing, he'd be perfectly fine with it. But in the middle of a mission while covered in armor - definitely not one of his best moments.

"No, it's fine," she answered, out of breath. He attempted to push himself off of her, but it was quite difficult. After untangling their limbs, and many awkward moments, they were able to separate themselves, and situated themselves as they heard the pilot contact command.

"So...jet packs, huh?" Wash awkwardly tried to make conversation with the black armored agent. She glanced up at him, tossed her jetpack to the ground, and jumped off the ship.

"That was interesting."

Cali chuckled from her spot on the floor. She was leaning against the wall, still catching her breath as she tried to fix something in her helmet. Wash couldn't help but stare longer than he probably should have, admiring her lovely brown hair, which was currently up in a messy bun, and her beautiful brown eyes, which were narrowed in concentration. Despite being dirty, bloody, and covered in sweat, David couldn't deny that she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

A few moments later, Cali stood up, leaving her helmet by her feet. She looked distraught, eyes stuck on the floor as she nibbled on her bottom lip. Wash noticed, as he has been staring at her lips, and walked in front of her, asking if everything was alright.

"I'm just worried, I guess. I hope Team A and B are okay. North hasn't contacted me in a long time, and what if my team needs me? I know Carolina can handle it, just what if-"

"Hey," Wash stopped her rambling, using his finger to lift up her chin, forcing her eyes to meet his (visor). "They'll be fine. I-I think."

Cali sighed at Wash's obliviousness, feeling anxious once again. "Wash-"

"Sorry! Sorry, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have - I'm just - I'm worried, too. It's okay for us to be worried, we'd be stupid not to be. That just means that we care for our teammates. And while it's okay to care, we also shouldn't care _too_ much, cause if someone get's hurt, or-"

"Wash," Cali said again, more forcefully to interrupt his rambling. "You're not helping." She smiled softly anyway, thankful for his attempt to make her feel better.

He was right. This was stupid of her. Not the worrying, the worrying too much. She swore to herself before she even joined the UNSC that she wouldn't get too attached, wouldn't let her heart get in the way. While it was a silly promise, it was never a problem for her before. Her entire life she'd never actually been in love, just dated for a few weeks then moved on. She didn't really know what love was. She knew of the simple things, like hugs, kisses, sex. But that's all it ever was for her.

When she joined the army, she knew things like that would never be a problem for her. She figured no guy - or girl - would ever get in her way like that. But then she met Tex. It was never romantic, but she knew Tex was the closest thing she had to being a best friend. She _was_ her best friend. Cali also met Wash. and those same feelings rushed back, but there was something more. And no matter how much she tried to ignore or deny it, she couldn't stop it. She knew that she was falling for David Washington, and no amount of anything could stop it.

But this was war. They were agents, member of a top secret facility. They had rules, and guidelines, and protocols. They weren't friends, running around playing pretend, they were real life soldiers, who put their lives on the line everyday. She knew she couldn't let him further into her heart, because if something, _anything,_ happened, she'd be absolutely heartbroken. Devastated. _Destroyed._

Which was why she never acted on it.

And as Wash stepped back, apologizing and slipping his helmet off, she smiled softly and cursed herself. Her heart, her emotions, and she cursed him. His beautiful heterochromatic eyes, and his entire being.

David was _not_ making this whole 'never fall in love' thing easier for her.

Little did she know, that as he stared into her chocolate brown eyes, with little specks of gold, reminding him of the smoothest honey, warm and soft; little did she know, that he felt exactly the same way.

* * *

"You think I should go back down there? Try and help?"

"Well...yo-you've done enough, already. Just take a break."

"Wash-"

"We should stay with the sarcophagus, Lily. Tell the Director what went down."

"I thought we were picking up the others before going back to the Mother of Invention."

She didn't get an answer.

Cali sighed, slipping her helmet back on as she sat, strapped to a seat. Wash was sitting next to her, strapped in as well with his helmet covering his face.

' _Agent Washington is right,'_ Alpha spoke for the first time in a while. _'The Director specifically told you what you needed to do, and you did it. There's nothing else for you to do, just sit tight and wait for the others.'_

Cali sighed, silently agreeing with Alpha, and verbally agreeing with Wash. "I guess. I guess I could use a break."

Wash glanced at her, visor covering his face so she couldn't see his face, but she guessed he was smiling at her. Slowly, he grabbed her hand, and laced his fingers through hers. It was slightly uncomfortable, the guards holding them to their seats were leaving their arms at weird angles, and their gloved and armored hands were a little too bulky for their fingers to fit. But Wash gave a light squeeze, and Cali smiled, giving a light squeeze back.

They both knew they only had about five more minutes of this peacefulness before they picked up Team B from their position. So, Lily decided that it was okay for her to take a break. Even if it was short, awkward, and a little painful, she'd be alright, as long as David was taking the break with her.

* * *

 **A/N: Daammnnnn Sammy, back at it again with the late update! Hahahaha kms.**

 **Anyway, this was a little different. Liked the change of PoV? Didn't like it? Let me know in the reviews if I should stick back to first person, or continue with third person. I guess this way I was able to get more of other peoples' thoughts and such, though it was mostly Cali and Wash.**

 **It's slightly difficult for me when to use Cali/Lily, or Wash/David. I want to use both, but I also don't want to keep switching back and forth?**

 **Anywayyy, kinda romance? idk not really, but we are moving a bit forward with the Lily/David relationship, so hopefully I can fit more of that into later chapters. I have a pretty good idea of how I want to start their relationship, as well as other stuff. I feel like this chapter is a bit rushed in the beginning? But let me know what you guys think in the reviews pllssss, they always make me super happy and I'm more likely to update quicker the more I get!**

 **Also - schools out! Yaayyy, so hopefully faster updates! Thank you guys so much, hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **~Saaammmm**


	15. Chapter 15

Lily had been right. Their break lasted a good four minutes before 479er landed and picked up Team B, where they had been getting slaughtered.

However, it wasn't just Team B, the rest of Team A were with them, and Lily had been slightly disappointed to find that Tex wasn't with them. Spotting Maine and his extremely bloody neck, she forgot her disappointment and allowed him to take her spot, doing her best to keep pressure on his wound.

"Carolina wha-what happened? Carolina!" The redhead stormed past her, green eyes ablaze.

"Carolina, would you just - where's the package? Did you get - Tex got the package didn't she? 'Lina look, I'm-"

"Don't fucking talk to me." Carolina snapped, moving to the front where the pilot was seated.

"Fuck," Lily whispered, moving her eyes to look up at Maine. His tan skin was looking exceedingly pale, and his dark eyes were beginning to close.

Sighing, Lily attempted to apply more pressure on his neck. Maine was a scary, quiet guy, but she cared for him, she cared about all the agents. Also, she felt bad about forcing him to go over the edge of the building.

"Would someone _please_ inform me what crawled up her ass and died?" Wash broke the silence, thumb pointing back to where Carolina had stomped off.

"Yes, please inform."

* * *

When the agents finally arrived back on the Mother of Invention, everyone was exhausted. North and York helped Lily carry Maine to the med bay, while everyone else went to report to the Director, as well as explain the others' absence. When the medics began to take care of Maine, North, York and Lily made their way to the Director, who immediately sent them off with a wave of his hand.

"Agent California, a moment," he called, and she walked back into the room.

"Yes sir?" she asked, standing at attention.

"At ease. I just wanted to remind you of your...appointment tomorrow. Get some rest, you'll need it."

Lily nodded and turned around. "Goodnight, sir."

She jogged to catch up with North and York, who weren't talking, just focusing on making it back to their rooms.

They passed by the first room, which was South's, and Lily internally groaned at the thought of having to walk all the way down to her room, which of _fucking course_ was at the end.

"Hey, "South's head poked out of her door, "in here."

Two of the three agents turned to walk into her room, while York politely declined. Everyone knew that he was making his way towards Carolina's room, though.

This became sort of a habit for the agents. After coming back from a long, tiring mission, they ended up making their way to the closest room their was and just crashed their. Depending on which way they came, it was either Cali's room, or South's Today had been a South day.

Walking in, the agents began to take their armor off. Wanting to sleep as fast as possible, the agents usually took off the most uncomfortable pieces of armor, before finding an empty spot and lying down. South and North were already lying down in bed, armored from the waist down, in their skin tight black suits from the waste up.

Wyoming was also already asleep, half lying on the bed with North's feet sticking in hi face. C.T. had curled up in a corner, and Wash was laying on the floor, spread out like and eagle. He had probably been the most tired, seeing as his armor was taken off in the most random spots, leaving him looking extremely uncomfortable.

Lillian found herself taking off just the top half of her armor, before unceremoniously plopping on her butt. She fell back and landed on Wash's chest, him giving a small grunt, but not caring otherwise. And like that, with her hair sprawled everywhere, David's heartbeat lulled her to sleep.

She hadn't noticed C.T. smirking at them, nor had she noticed the small smile on David's face as he subconsciously ran his fingers lightly through her hair, before the darkness overtook her.

* * *

To say David's back was sore, was saying the least. Not only was he dying because he slept on the ground (he just _knew_ C.T. placed her glove their on purpose!), but he had a massive bruise from where Tex kicked him into the ship. Now, he doesn't _think_ that she was trying to hurt him, but he could never be sure.

So waking up in the morning was pretty terrible for him, but Lily made it slightly better. He just didn't know what it was about her that made him feel so great. Yeah, he's had crushes and girlfriends, but he's never really felt like this before. After he threw a glove at a laughing C.T., he couldn't stop the small smile from growing on his face as him and Lily walked down to breakfast together.

Of course they both changed and showered and whatnot, but being with her made him feel giddy, almost like a little kid again. But, like, not in a weird way.

He couldn't deny that there was something a little off about her recently. She seemed tired all the fucking time, and would even zone out at times. And her head always seemed to hurt. David insisted on taking her to the med bay, at least for some aspirin, but Lily always refused, claiming she was fine.

"Bullshit," David accidently muttered aloud.

"Hm?" Lily turned and looked at him, a small smile on her face. She looked so cute in her little sweats, and _gasp! Is she wearing my T-shirt? She is! I-I don't really know how she got it, but she needs to keep it and also get more and wear them all the time. Look at her little face! Ugh, she's so cute._

"Wash?"

"Do you want all my shirts?"

"What?" she laughed her adorable laugh.

"Um, nothing," David chuckled awkwardly, turning away in an attempt to hide his burning face from her.

She continued giggling when they entered the cafeteria, and immediately got in line. David couldn't help but smile softly, she sure did love her pancakes, though she'd die without her morning coffee. Well, more like someone _else_ would die, cause she'd, like, murder them.

Anyway, David wandered over and made both Lily and himself a cup of coffee. He left hers black, and added tons of cream and sugar to his own cup. How she drank it plain, he did not know, nor believed he would ever understand. But it was just one of those little quirks he adored. One of about one thousand.

* * *

 **Very late, very short, but very needed. Just a filler chapter, to update and to get a bit more of Wash's thoughts. Ugh, my smol bean so cute.**

 **Idk if the 'all freelancers sleeping in the same room bc their too tired' thing is legit, but it makes a lot of sense like, c'mon.**

 **Anyway, please review? Again, sO sorry it's been forever, I hope you enjoyed it!**

 **~Saammmm :-D**


	16. Chapter 16

Lily sat down at a table where York, North, and Carolina were already seated. The two latter agents mumbled a 'hello,' and York was barely able to stifle a yawn, resting his head on the table.

"Rough night?" Lily teased, buttering her pancakes. "How late did you keep him up, 'Lina?"

North chuckled and Carolina's face went nearly as red as her hair. "I didn't-" York cut her off when he snorted, causing the redhead to blush even more, if possible.

Wash returned shortly, two cups of coffee in his hand. He handed one to Lily and slid next to York, who mumbled something incoherently.

"You're not hungry?" North asked, shoving scrambled eggs into his mouth.

Wash shrugged in response, but stole a piece of toast from Lily, who stopped eating to give him a look.

"Not cool dude, not cool."

Wash didn't respond, instead asking North where his sister was. The blond swallowed before answering, saying she was still in bed, and probably would be for the next few hours.

Carolina had to stop herself from making a comment, instead asking anyone if they wanted to train with her.

York slowly lifted his head up and grinned lazily at her, "I would, but I don't think I can walk on my own."

"And that's what you get when you leave recovery a day early," North sighed, standing up. "C'mon, I'll walk him back to his room, you go on Carolina."

She stared worriedly at York for a moment, while he grinned back. Letting out a sigh, she nodded reluctantly, placing a quick peck on his cheek before rushing out of the cafeteria. North chuckled and shook his head, slowly following her with York.

As Wash grinned after them, looking around to make sure no one important saw the not so subtle kiss (it was against protocol for freelancers to date, though literally everyone knew about York and Carolina), Lily glared at the table. Next to her were three other trays, two empty and one with half eaten food left.

She silently groaned and angrily stood up, grabbing the trays and storming to the trash, quietly mumbling to herself the whole way.

"'Clean up after us, Cali!' 'Watch us fight until we can't walk, Cali!' 'Do this, do that, Cali!'" Her voice differed from each, imitating different freelancers, such as North, York, and Carolina (in that order).

She slammed the trays down, and continued to grumble. "'Agent California I'm going to tell you everything is alright, but really I'm just going to use you for my experiments and slowly rip apart your mind because I can't get over something that happened like a million years ago!'"

When she plopped back down in front of Wash, who looked very confused and slightly scared, she seriously hoped he didn't hear what she just said.

"Cal, are you okay?" he asked hesitantly, eyes filling with concern.

"No David, I'm not okay. My head is pounding and I'm going to undergo surgery in a few hours so the Director can torture my poor little Alpha to get whatever the fuck it is he wants, and I'm going to wake up tomorrow, in a lot of pain but forced to hide it all and if you ask me what happened I'm going to have to lie to you, causing the guilt to eat away at me more than it already is."

Of course she only said that in her mind, so only her (and Alpha) could hear it.

Instead, she gave her best fake smile, and said, "Yeah, I'm okay."

He looked at her skeptically, but nodded anyway. "Uh, wanna train?"

Lily sighed and shook her head, "Um not right now, I have to...talk to the Director later and I don't want to be late."

"Oh, okay," Wash looked disappointed, and Lily bit her lip, looking down. She really did want to hang out with him - train even. But she had surgery later, and the Counsellor encouraged her to take it easy on surgery days.

' _Which do seem to be getting more frequent,'_ Alpha commented. Lily agreed.

"Um, hey! I don't want to train, but we could still hang out, maybe," she mumbled out awkwardly, face burning as she turned away.

Wash looked back at Lily and smiled, face turning slightly red also. "Y-yeah, yeah okay," he chuckled, literally feeling the awkward leave his mouth. "Um.."

"I dunno, maybe we could...take a walk? I mean I know walking around the ship doesn't seem that spectacular or anything, but-"

"Yeah! No, yeah, we can," Wash nodded, smiling softly. "We can also...hang out in one of our rooms! Because, that's literally the _only_ other thing to do here."

Lily giggled at his sarcastic excitedness, and agreed.

He picked up her now empty breakfast tray, and she took the now empty coffee mugs, and they walked out of the cafeteria (after placing the items down, of course).

* * *

"Okay, but you've seriously _never_ seen _The Empire Strikes Back_? That's the best one!"

"Well, I haven't seen _any_ of the Star Wars movies, so I wouldn't know."

"How could you have _not_ seen them? That's like - that's like _not_ reading Harry Potter!"

"Never rea-"

"If you finish that sentence I will end you."

Wash broke out in a fit of laughter, eyes shut and head thrown back. Lily noticed his right eyebrow raised slightly above the other when he laughed, and he had a small dimple on his right cheek - hardly noticeable. Lily bit her lip to stop the grin spreading out on her face, it was weird enough to stare at him. Though she couldn't deny that there was something a little more than friendship between them.

Wash's laughter finally calmed down to a faint chuckle before responding. "Okay fine, sorry. But I have seen the Harry Potter movies."

Lily rolled her eyes and let out a breathy laugh, "It's not the same!"

Wash smiled and, without thinking, took her hand in his own. Suddenly, her smile disappeared from her face, and he froze, hoping she wouldn't kill him.

Then, slowly, as if the world wanted to mess with Wash, Lily breathed in. Suddenly feeling very nervous, Wash winced, praying to not get yelled at.

And suddenly she let out the cutest sneeze he had ever heard, and he let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. The breath turned into an airy laugh, both at the thought of him being ridiculously frightened, and the sound of her sneeze.

"I don't think I've ever heard your voice go that high before," he teased, grinning.

"Shut up," Lily mumbled, rubbing her now red nose, before falling back into conversation about some character he's never heard about.

* * *

"...still talking about the angry ugly one that was in that house? Or-"

"No, no, that was _Kreacher_. I'm talking about _Winky_."

"Never heard of him."

"That's because _she_ wasn't in the movies! Now, in the book..."

"Do you think they realize?"

Carolina glanced at her boyfriend, who stood in the doorway of his bedroom, seeming now well rested as he stared at Wash and Cali.

She looked back at the pair, who were walking towards Wash's room, which was down a few doors from York's. Taking a peek at their laced fingers, she smiled, looking back up at the two, who were still conversing absentmindedly.

Carolina turned back to York and shrugged, before answering, "They look pretty lost in conversation, but it seems like they're holding hands pretty tightly, so they must realize."

"What? No, not the hands. I meant do you think they realize that they've fallen in love?"

Carolina scrunched her eyebrows, turning back to the two. They stopped walking now, Cali had one hand on the doorknob, and the other intertwined tightly into Wash's. Her brown eyes seemed to brighten with every word she spoke, and Wash stared at her with the softest eyes. The way they were facing caused Carolina to only see his blue eye which kept glancing from her eyes to her lips, and flickering over the rest of her face (though more often than not, they locked on her lips). It was a look as if he wasn't really listening to her, but still taking in each and every word. A look she recognized quite well, having been on the receiving end of it from York multiple times.

Carolina's own faced softened as she turned back to York, who was already looking at her, smile small and eyes (eye) soft. Carolina gave a small smile back, before turning to walk to her own room, being pooped from training.

As she did, she passed by Wash's door, which had now been opened and was starting to close. As she passed, she heard Cali giggle and Wash's voice, a bit too soft for her to hear. Cali began to mumble something back but was cut off by something, and gave a small gasp.

The red head smirked as the door shut fully, and she turned around to spot York, who was still standing there.

"Told ya so," he winked at her.

"Oh please, anyone could see it from a mile away," she laughed, and walked off to her room, actually making it this time.

* * *

When Wash kissed her, she wasn't really sure how to react. The first thought she had was, 'I should buy him some ChapStick.' Her second thought was, 'Oh my gosh! He's _kissing_ me!' And by the third thought she had, she was kissing him back.

Lily wouldn't really be able to describe exactly what she felt when they kissed. Well, she was happy, and she felt warm, like joy had spread all over her body. She felt all tingly too, as if she were a firework and Wash had just lit the spark. She felt like there was fire where Wash's hands touched her skin, one trailing from her arm up to her cheek, the other down to her waist.

She wasn't sure what to do with her own hands, so Lily placed them on his chest, where she could feel his heartbeat beating just as erratically as hers. In truth, Lily wasn't sure where to go from there. The only thing kisses had led up to for her was a much more intimate act, and she didn't think David was quite ready for that, so she awkwardly stood there, hardly moving her lips. Thinking about her past relationships, made her stomach go from lovely butterflies, to being filled with dread. What on earth was she doing? Her _one_ _rule_ was already broken, and she was making it worse buy kissing him!

But she couldn't stop, this was all Lily ever wanted. When they first met, and she slowly realized her feelings, she wanted this. And ever since she was a little girl, all the way up to a grown woman, all she'd wanted was to be kissed by someone she really cared for, and someone who cared for her. This was the one thing Lily wanted the most in the universe.

And she knew she couldn't have it.

When Wash pulled back, he was grinning as he caught his breath. He knew it was a bold move, but she just looked so _beautiful_ standing there, and he had to take his chances. And she actually kissed him back! He looked up at the ceiling, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, letting it out as he looked back down at the girl of his dreams.

He wasn't expecting her to start crying.

But there she was, beautiful brown eyes staring up at him, filled with so much pain as they filled with tears.

"I-I'm sorry, David, but I - we, can't do this," she choked out.

David never really knew what it felt like to have his heart broken. Yeah, all his past relationships didn't work (obviously), and he's been rejected by his fair share of ladies (and one guy, but it was on a drunk dare and the man turned him down in an instant). But when the feeling of disappointment, fear, and straight up cold washed over him, filling him with an indescribable ache and pain, he figured this is what heartbreak was.

"What do you mean, 'we can't?'" he asked, running a hand through his dyed hair.

Lily sighed and shook her head. "I mean, _this_! It-it's against protocol! And it's dangerous-"

"York and Carolina are in a relationship, no one's said a thing about them! We can keep it a secret, we can-"

"No, it's not only that, I mean, our jobs are dangerous! And, I mean if we were together and you got hurt - or killed - ...I just, I can't bare the thought of it."

Wash took her hands in his own, trying to get Lily to look up at him.

"You just said it would hurt. Like, if I were to die right now, while we weren't in a relationship. So wouldn't it hurt worse now? Knowing that we could have been something, but you didn't?"

She sighed and pulled her hands away from his, "No. I mean yes? I don't know, just - I can't okay? I promised myself I'd never do this-"

"Do what," Wash demanded, "Do what, Lily?"

"Fall in love!" she blurted, more tears spilling down her face. "I promised myself I'd never fall in love! It would hurt me in the end too much, and you! Just leave me alone please, before it gets worse!"

"What?" Wash felt panic rise in his throat. This woman just admitted she loved him and she's walking away? "No, no I love you too!"

Lily glanced back at him, from where she was making her way to the door. She shook her head, "No, David, please don't say that-"

"Lily, listen. We can make this work, just-"

"David, _please_ -"

" _Agent California, the Director wishes to see you immediately_."

Wash flinched, not expecting to hear F.I.L.S.S.' voice.

"I-" Lily cleared her throat. "Yes, F.I.L.S.S., tell him I'll be right there," she said, voice cracking.

She rubbed her eyes and nose before glancing back at Wash, and leaving his room.

David slowly sat down on his bed, putting his head in his hands, flinching once more when he felt wetness on his cheeks from tears he hadn't realized where there. He's been alone in his room plenty of times before, but this was the one moment where he truly felt _alone_.

And for the first time in a long, long time, Agent Washington cried himself to sleep.

* * *

 **A/N: Haha what is this. I wanted it to be really cute but then my brain was like 'actually fuck you' and I made myself really sad by writing this but hEre ya gO!**

 **Honestly at this point, I'm kinda just writing. I know how I want the story to end, but I'm not really sure like how to get there, I'm sorta hoping it all just falls into place.**

 **I also know what I want for the sequel, like when Lily is in Blood Gulch with the guys. Expect another OC, and hopefully less angst? And expect a really motherly Lily, you see how she acts with Alpha, imagine her with _three_ tiny blue babies she has to take care of. And then when Tex comes, *sigh* those two are like wine mom and vodka aunt.**

 **Anywho, review? let me know what you think pls I love getting reviews! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **~Saammmm :-D**


	17. Chapter 17

"Agent California, I'm so glad you could join us."

"Yeah, well, the feeling's not mutual."

"I see. Now, bef- Agent California, have you been...crying?"

"No...maybe."

"Well, I- they call me _Counsellor_ for a reason. What's wrong? You can talk to me."

"I'd rather not."

"Cali, please-"

"Leave me alone, Counsellor."

"Now, now, I'm sure we can-"

"I said 'leave me alone,' _Aiden_."

"...I see. You seem to be emitting high levels of anger toward me, probably caused by whatever it is that made you to cry in the first place. Most likely an-"

"Oh don't you _psychoanalyze_ me, I'm fine! Let's just get this stupid thing over with."

"Very well. This may hurt a bit."

"Yes, I know. You tell me this every time we-"

* * *

Waking up alone in recovery was something Agent California was used to. Waking up with the slightly angry, yet extremely worried, eyes of Agent Texas staring right at her was _not_ something she was used to.

So it was only natural that she screeched like a pterodactyl and punched her in the face.

Tex jumped back, both hands covering her nose and shouted something, which was too muffled and nasally for Agent California.

"What the fuck," Cali panted, looking around the room in great confusion before her brown eyes settled on Tex, who was now standing considerably farther from her bed.

"Wh-Tex? Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry I hit you wh- what-" California was unable to finish her sentence, rubbing her eyes in attempt to get rid of her confusion.

"God, it feels like I've been dead for a thousand years. How long was I out?"

Tex slowly made her way closer to the bed, running a hand through her already messed up hair. "You might as well have been."

"What?" Cali asked, mentally trying to speak with Alpha. If what Tex said was true, and the agent would have been better off dead, it was her number one priority to make sure her A.I. was okay.

"Yeah you...you were out for about a month."

Cali sat up so fast, her head spun and she saw black dots. " _What?!_ " she screeched, her voice cracking. "What do you mean a _month_."

"I mean exactly one month," Tex said, shrugging, and looking at Cali with sympathy. "When the Director told us you were in comatose, I visited you as often as I could."

California tried to hide the fact that her heart soared when she heard this. She figured her once closest friend had completely forgotten about her, but apparently not.

"Everyone's been worried; me, York, _Carolina_ -" she said her name with such detest, "-North, Wash, all of 'em. Hell, even Maine visited once or twice. Wash though, he's been the worst. Like, nonstop, I swear he never even left until I came in here and kicked him out. He hasn't showered in two weeks. _Two_ -"

"Oh my gosh!" Cali screamed again, jumping out of her bed. Her feet landed on the tiled floor with a small smack, and she attempted to make her way out of the room, but Tex stopped her.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" she asked, frowning when she noticed the tears that had welled up in her oldest friend's eyes.

"I-I have to tell David he-he has know I'm o-okay!" she mumbled, trying to get past Tex, who was holding her wrists.

"Hey, calm down, Road Runner. We have to tell the Director first-"

"No-"

" _But_ , but, before I do that, I need to talk to you. Please, just sit down," Tex coaxed, sitting California back down on the bed. The dark haired girl wiped her eyes and nodded, looking up at Tex.

The blonde didn't say anything for a while, just simply stared at her. Her eyes were glossy and seemed distant, as if she was exhausted and had been her whole life. There were bags under her eyes, mixed with dark circles, giving her an almost sickly complexion. All the rumors Tex had heard seemed to be making more sense now, all of Omega's and the other A.I.'s whispers about the Alpha suddenly made so much sense as she stared into the broken and tired eyes of Lillian Yang.

"Lily, be honest with me, are you okay?"

Cali sighed and closed her eyes, resting her head in her hands, "Yeah I'm...I'm just tired. Like, really, _really_ tired."

Tex sighed also, and nodded her head, "I know the feeling."

It was silent for a moment longer before Tex finally worked up the courage to speak.

"Lily, while you were...out, there have been several A.I. implantations."

Her head snapped up so fast, Tex was afraid it would fall off. "W-what? What do you mean? How many?"

"Um, well, Carolina gave hers to Maine, York and North got one, and Wyoming got one. Also uh...C.T. is gone."

"What?" Cali asked, voice barely above a whisper. This was just so much to take in, _three_ new A.I. while she was out? No wonder she was so goddamn tired. "What do you mean 'gone'?"

Tex shook her head, "Not like, _gone_ gone, but she...left. She was a traitor all along, and now she's somewhere with the Insurrectionists." Tex winced, realizing her mistake. "Well, actually, yeah, she's gone. We wee sent on a mission to get her armor that held valuable information. C.T. was killed and we never got the damn armor."

Cali let out a shaky breath, not even finding it in herself to feel grief. Wash was right, when he felt suspicious of the girl, and Cali had regretted not taking it into a bigger account. Connie was her friends, she didn't want to believe she would ever betray them.

"Is...that all you wished to talk about?" California asked, surprisingly calm, which scared Tex a little.

"Um well, no. I actually wanted to talk to you about the A.I. You might not have met any of them, save Omega and Sigma, but all five of them, Theta, Delta, and Gamma included, talk about...another one.

Cali sat up straight and looked forward, knowing exactly where this was going.

"Usually, the A.I. call each other 'brother.' But, this other A.I., they call it 'Father.' Like, like it created them. Omega told me that it's real name is the Alpha, but everyone else says the Alpha is just a myth. Like a creation of the A.I., just a name for where they came from."

"And by 'everyone else,' I'm assuming you mean the Director and the Counsellor," Cali sighed for what seemed to be the hundredth time.

Tex nodded, not saying anything.

Letting out a quiet groan and running her hands down her face, Cali took a deep breath before looking Tex in the eye. "I'm going to tell you something that I've been keeping a secret for years now. As you know, I was the first freelancer here. However, I wasn't alone. I was given the Alpha A.I., which is still inside, and the Director has been using my A.I. to create all the other A.I."

Tex was silent, and Cali was almost afraid that she didn't believe her.

"So," Tex finally spoke, "The Alpha is your A.I.?"

Cali nodded. "He's offline right now, I think, I haven't been able to get a hold of him since I woke up. This usually happens after surgeries, so we probably won't be communicating for a while. It's like after each A.I. is created, he gets more and more worn out. I can't blame him, the Director tortures Alpha until he's able to literally rip a piece off of him." Tex was horrified with what she was hearing. No wonder Lily looked like she was in constant pain! She's living with this A.I. that's literally being torn to shreds.

Cali was rambling now, seeming to have lost her train of thought, "...it's like a small, more annoying, Director inside my head. Except we actually get along, and he's kind of funny..."

Tex couldn't help but think about her mental health. Was she okay? Having two minds must be difficult enough, but the freelancers can handle it, they're only fragments. Lily had one whole A.I. in her mind, and on top of that, it was slowly being ripped apart, wouldn't her mind go with it?

"...don't even get me started on the way he wakes me up. If Alpha screams the word 'alarm' in my head one more time..."

"Hey," Tex said softly, cutting her friend off and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you head back to your room? Try to avoid everyone, they might attack you when they see you're awake," she joked halfheartedly. This poor woman was going through so much, Tex felt nothing but the undying need to make sure she got all the rest she needed.

"O-okay," she nodded, standing up with Tex, "but don't you think we need to inform the Director that I'm awake?"

Tex shook her head, leading her friend towards the door. "Nah, he can wait. You just, you go rest."

"Tex, I've been resting for a month," Cali smiled.

The blonde let out a forced laugh, not finding the joke funny at all, "Then take a shower, a bath even; take a walk. But try and avoid as many people as you can."

California nodded and hugged Tex, squeezing her tightly, reminding her of the same hugs they would share after long talks about the past. Tex took a deep breath and held on tighter, afraid that if she let go, Lily would just float away. Her friend was in pain, and she wanted nothing more than to destroy the very things that caused her this pain.

"Thank you, Allison," Cali whispered, hardly loud enough for Tex to hear, but she did.

"No problem. Hey," she called, as Lily walked out. "See you later, alligator."

Cali grinned, remember the farewells they'd use in place of 'goodbye.' Tex hated that word.

"In a while, crocodile."

* * *

 **A/N: I'm not sure what this is, a mix between sad and...mostly sad, but I hope you liked it.**

 **Unfortunately this story is nearing it's end, I know the ending seems really rushed and stuff, but the things that are happening is how I intended it to end all along, so hopefully it makes sense.**

 **As mentioned before, there _will_ be a sequel to this, with Lily n our favorite blood gulch nerds. I've actually been thinking about adding a female oc to the red team (c'mon, blue gets all the girls) so please let me know what you think about that.**

 **Alsooo, if enough people like the idea of another OFC, I'll probably do like a 'submit your own oc' or something and place her on red team. I might even pick more than one and add 'em on later, like during chorus or something (if u want).**

 **Anyway lemme know what you think about the oc idea, plllssss review!**

 **~Saammmm :-D**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Okay hi hello! So I know this is sort of late bUT I sort of just started watching the 14th season of rvb like an hour ago cause I watched 1-13 on Netflix, and not on youtube so I actually had no idea it was out until my brain was like "wait a second" sooo I'm only on like episode 6 and I am half confused but I lOVE IT SO MUCH. Anyway um sorta _SPOILIER FOR SEASON 14 OF RVB_ (a warning if you haven't watched it yet) but I am so awesome. On the list in like episode 4 I think? that vic showed florida of the agents that were supposed to replace him if he like dies, number one was Agent California which is AMAZING because that tooootally ties in with how I was gonna make her end up there so yes! And mini spoiler for my sequel to this story but oh whale.**

 **Um, so to answer some reviews...**

 _ **ShadowScorch the Duelmaster:**_ **Yes! I do plan on going all the way to the chorus trilogy, though it may be a while before we actually get there. I might even make it a separate story. Ya know, like a trilogy (hA)**

 ** _djmegamouth_ : Well I don't wanna like give away too much but she probably won't be. (maybe, it's a good idea though!)**

 _ **TheOtherSanics:**_ **I'm glad you like the idea!**

 ** _Demondash666_ : (scary name bro) But I love the idea! I was actually leaning more towards the Simmons/OC thing, and having him be all awkward and stuttery around her, but Grif works too! Although I do ship Grimmons...maybe she can be with Lopez? xD**

 **Okay, on with the chapter!**

* * *

Making her way back to her room proved quite difficult for Cali. She had to avoid York and North, who were on their way to the cafeteria (she overheard their conversation and had assumed it was lunchtime). She also had to dive into a broom closet, and then convince South, who ended up seeing her anyway, to stay quiet.

"Please, nobody can know I'm awake."

"Well...what's in it for me?"

"Um...how about...well," Cali trailed off, not entirely sure what she could do.

South grinned, her light eyes glinting mischievously and ran a hand through her short, blonde hair. "Tell ya what, you cover for me later? We're good."

"Um, cover? How?"

"I'm goin' out for a smoke and I need you to tell Carolina that I'm gone, without actually telling her where I am."

Cali scrunched her eyebrows together and frowned. "What do you mean 'going out for a smoke?' You can't exactly go outside, we're in space."

"Yeah, no shit. But 479er got a hold of some, well, weed, and she and I are gonna go smoke it," South explained. "So, just make up some excuse as to why I'm not there."

Cali rolled her eyes in response, "Yeah, I'll just tell everyone you're too busy making out with everyone's favorite pilot."

"Well, you wouldn't be wrong there," South winked.

"What-"

"Nothing, get outa here before everyone else comes down for lunch."

 _I was right about the lunch thing_ , Cali thought.

 _'Yeah, well, hurry to your room. Three agents are about to turn into this hall_ ,' Alpha spoke suddenly, shocking Cali.

She yelped and panicked, hearing voices coming from the hall where Alpha said people were coming. Going into _Ohmyfuckinggod_ Mode, Cali jumped into the closest room, praying it was empty.

It wasn't.

Cali closed the door as quickly and as quietly as she could, covering her mouth and trying to slow her breathing. On the bed was a sleeping Agent Washington, who looked like he hadn't slept in about 12 years.

A thin blanket was covering about one leg, showing off the rest of his sleeping figure. Cali's eyes trailed over his body, staring at his boxer clad butt longer than she probably should have, and she just about started drooling over his bare, muscular back. Eyes stopping on his face, Cali couldn't stop the grin from appearing on her lips, which were still covered by her hands.

He was just so cute when he slept! There were obvious bags under his eyes, and stubble that hadn't really been there before. Cali couldn't deny, though, that he definitely pulled it off.

Wash's mouth was slightly parted, and a little line of drool left his lips, but Cali found it adorable, and held her giggles at the sight of her adorable David, sleeping on-

What?

 _No, stop. He's not adorable! And he certainly isn't_ mine _. I made that very clear._

Cali's eyes widened as her hands moved from her mouth to her hair, nearly tearing it out. What was wrong with her! A month! One whole month she's been in a coma, and Tex said that Wash was taking it the worst.

"What the fuck is wrong with me?" Cali whispered, heard rate increasing as she looked around.

' _Well, you broke the poor kids heart, then got yourself in a coma. He must be worried sick-'_

"'Got myself put into a coma?!'" Cali whispered angrily, "You act like this is my fault!"

Alpha appeared in front of her, glaring angrily at his host. "Yes, your fault!" he whisper shouted back. "If you hadn't agreed to joining Project Freelancer in the first place, we wouldn't be here!"

Cali gave a very dramatic gasp, placing a hand over her heart. "How dare you! It's not my fault! It's not like I knew what the Director was gonna do! It's not like I knew he was going to put you inside my head and constantly torture you just so he could get what he wanted! Like-like...like I planned the whole thing and-and just sat back and wanted you to get hurt!" Cali was nearly crying now, voice cracking and forgetting to whisper.

"I wanted to help you, I really did but I was stuck to just lay there and-and let you deal with it all. I mean, it's not like it hasn't been affecting me too," Cali finished, tears streaming down her face, voice becoming hoarse and turning back into a whisper.

Alpha was quiet for a moment before he finally answered. "I know. I'm sorry."

Cali sighed, and wiped her face, trying to calm her breathing again.

"Oh, gosh I'm so stupid! Why did I ever turn him down? I had a chance of never seeing him again and I'm an idiot! Agghhh," Cali began mumbling to herself, pacing the room and talking louder, forgetting where she was.

Cali glanced desperately at Alpha, who was still floating in front of her. "Alpha what's wrong with me. W-why do I feel like this?" She had a pretty good idea why, but never wanted to actually admit.

"You love him," Alpha answered, like it was the most simple thing in the world.

"What? Who?"

Alpha rolled his eyes, " _Him._ Wash, David. You love him. He makes you feel all happy and warm, and you blush when you think about him, and your heart rate goes up. You're scared to be with him, because you've never felt like this with anyone, but I know you, Lily. And I know that you are even more afraid to be without him. And I also know that you better step in and take charge before something happens. Don't make a mistake, don't lose him." _Like I did._

"Oh no," she gasped, staring wide eyed at Alpha. "I-I love him. How could I-...I turned him down but I _love_ him."

"Yeah," Alpha chuckled, "yeah, no shit."

"God, how am I ever going to fix this?" Cali grumbled, pulling at her hair again.

"Well, I think I know a good place to start."

* * *

Cali's head whipped around as fast as Alpha disappeared. Sitting there, very much awake, was David Washington. He was sitting up now, eyes squinting, but smiling slightly.

"D-David! Y-you're...awake!" she laughed awkwardly, praying her hardest that he hadn't seen or heard Alpha.

He chuckled as well, running a hand through his already messed up hair. "And so are you," he smiled, before his eyes went wide.

"Holy shit, so are you."

Wash jumped out of bed so fast and pulled Cali into the biggest hug she'd ever received. He squeezed her tightly, and they both slid to the floor as she squeezed him back. She felt so warm and safe in his arms, and she knew one thousand percent that that was where she belonged.

Wash began to shake, and Cali felt warm tears on her shoulders. She panicked slightly, before going into what her old boyfriend Charles called her 'Mother Mode.'

Whenever he, or any of his little cousins, got sad, Lily was right there to cheer them back up. She knew just what to say, just how tightly to hug, and whether or not they needed a back rub. If they were extremely sad, Lily would make the most amazing grilled cheese sandwich that ever existed.

"Hey, it's okay," Cali whispered, beginning to rub his back. She could feel her own tears pouring down her face.

"I-I just thought-" Wash sobbed, "th-that! That I'd...never-never get to see you again, and-and-and-"

"Hey, sh. I'm here now, I'm here."

Wash pulled back, and his eyes met hers. They were glistening with tears and rimmed with red, the dark circles and bags made him look older than the last time she saw him - a month ago.

"T-the Director said he didn't know when you would wake up, even if you would. He was going to give you a few more weeks before just giving up I think," Wash sighed and fresh tears spilled down his freckled cheeks. "He wouldn't even tell us what happened. But I think I know now."

Cali placed a hand in one of his and gave a gentle squeeze. "What are you talking about?"

He squeezed back. "You. Why you were in a coma. I mean, it all makes sense now. Especially after I saw it."

"'It?' Oh, you mean...Alpha," Cali sighed, knowing there was no use in denying it. He had seen her A.I., plain and simple.

Wash nodded and swallowed before answering, "I mean, I've heard the rumors. From other agents and their A.I. Delta and Theta, which are York and North's, they um, they said it was like their creator. But everyone just thought it was a myth. And holy shit, it's real! And it's inside your head."

Cali sighed and nodded, "Yeah, he's real. He's been my A.I. for a few years now. Alpha is pretty much the only reason I'm still number one on the leader board. I really suck without him. I'm good with guns, but..."

"Oh. Yeah," Wash drawled, biting his lip and looking away. "About that..."

"Wash, what?" Cali asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Um, you've been taken off the leaderboard. Completely," Wash explained and Cali sighed, not even surprised. "Tex is number one. Then Carolina, then York, I think. 'Lina isn't happy about it, at all. I don't even think she's mad about being second, she's just pissed that you were taken off. She asked the Director about you everyday, but he never really answered her."

Cali stayed silent, not answering. In all honesty, she had no idea what to say. It seems like so much has happened in the last month, and it was slightly overwhelming.

"David, I love you," she said suddenly, surprising both of them (and even Alpha, who had been eavesdropping).

Wash raised his eyebrows and gave a short chuckle. "Yeah I heard. Um, that was unexpected though. But it's pretty obvious that I love you, too, Lily. I have for a while now."

She looked back up and into his eyes, the one grey and one blue eyes that she loved so much. They were so different, and so odd, but she loved them so much. She could look at them all day.

And then she kissed him. Softly, but passionate. Cali poured all her emotion into the kiss, everything she was feeling. The sadness, the anger, and the hurt, but more importantly the excitement, the joy, and the love she was feeling.

And Wash accepted it, he accepted all of her, and gave her back the same amount of emotion.

The kiss soon turned rough and fiery, months and months of hidden feelings came pouring out into the kiss. After nearly a year of knowing each other, the crushes they had, what turned into like, which turned into love, and along with it came the built up tension just rushing out. Wash sat up and leaned against the edge of the bed, one hand cupping her face, the other tightly wrapped around her waist, bringing her as close as possible.

Cali was straddling his legs, both hands brushing against his warm skin, touching every inch she could. She seemed to want more, and bit his lip slightly, before moving her mouth to his neck and shoulder. Wash groaned, feeling himself begin to harden underneath her touch and pushed her back slightly, awkwardly chuckling.

"H-hey, easy there, tiger," he teased, grinning, and trying to casually cover up his crotch, which he seemed to remember was covered in nothing but his thin boxers.

Cali pulled back and sat on her knees, face flushed red and breathing hard. "I-I'm sorry. I don't- I don't know anything else, I mean, this is all the guys have ever wanted and I-" her eyes began to swell up with tears of shame and embarrassment.

Wash put his hands on her cheeks and smiled softly, "Hey, it's okay. We don't have to rush into anything. I know that's how your...past relationships...may have gone, but not with me. I love you, and I want you to be comfortable and happy."

Cali grinned back, though it came out squished, due to Wash's hands holding her face, and he laughed. "You look adorable."

She smiled even more, and he laughed even harder, and they sat there, laughing and smiling and just feeling like they finally got what they wanted most in the world.


	19. Chapter 19

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

"Hnngh, Alpha shut up."

' _That's...actually not me, and I'm quite insulted that you thought it was. I would never wake you up in such a merciless way.'_

"You're right, then what the fuck..." Cali raised her head from her pillow and was quite surprised to see it made out of human skin.

"Excuse me, California? Oliver Thredson called, he wants his pillow case back," Cali snorted and began cracking up at her own joke.

And when Wash woke up to see the love of his life laughing, her eyes closed and her nose scrunched, he nearly worried for her insanity.

But when she saw him awake and calmed down just enough to say, "Oh God! I'm the funniest person alive! Alpha! Alpha, tell David the joke, because I can't-" and she started laughing again, he knew that he would endure waking up at 5:00 A.M. on every single Monday for the rest of his life just to see her that happy every morning.

Unfortunately for David, that would be the last morning he would wake up to her for a very, very long time.

* * *

"So, how'd you sleep?" York asked casually, well as casually as he could muster. He knew something was up when Cali and Wash walked into the cafeteria together, laughing at something and hands brushing occasionally. After he got past the surprise of seeing Cali awake for the first time in a month, he was determined to figure out what happened between the agents.

"Great," Cali answered, putting a great emphasis on the word before grinning at Wash. The blonde man blushed and smiled back, before looked back down at his food.

"Uh-huh," York slowly nodded his head, narrowing his eyes at the two. Something had definitely happened.

"You slept great huh? Did you even get that much sleep at all?" He asked, shoveling food into his mouth.

Cali didn't answer this time, she simply smirked and took another bite out of her pancakes. Wash stayed silent as well, sipping his coffee.

It took a moment for York to realize, but as soon as it clicked, he abruptly stood up and put his mouth over his hands.

"Oh my God!" he exclaimed, like a little school girl finding out her crush liked her back. "You guys - you finally - you fuck - yes!"

He plopped back down in his seat and whooped again, slamming his hands down on the table. "I fucking knew it, you guys fucked, yes!" he whisper shouted.

"Relax, it's not a big deal," Wash whispered back, face now a bright red.

"Not a big- this is a very big deal, David!" York argued, still whispering. Cali wasn't quite sure why they were whispering, but she was thankful York stopped drawing attention to their table.

"Do you know how long I've been waiting for this?" York asked angrily. "North was convinced you guys wouldn't sleep together for like another year, and South bet it'd take ten. She said Wash didn't have enough balls to initiate-"

"She said that?" Wash frowned.

"-and that Cal was too stubborn to do anything. C.T. - well, Connie agreed with me, but she's, like, gone, so I guess that means I get her money, too!"

"You guys made a bet on when we would fuck?" Cali asked, eyebrows scrunching together.

York grinned but wasn't paying attention to her, instead, he was waving North and South to come join them at their table.

"Oh no, please," Wash protested, but the twins sat down anyway.

"Whoa, hey, I didn't even know you were awake!" North said, giving Cali a side hug.

"Yeah, that's great, hey listen-" York and North began to discuss the subject of payment while South laughed and teased Cali and Wash.

"Couldn't even wait for her to adjust, could you Wash?" South smirked.

His face went red once more and he shook his head quickly. "What? N-no, I-"

"So like, say a person made the same bet as me, but that person is gone now. I won they bet, which means that person would get money, too. _But_ , since they're gone now, does that mean I get their money?"

"No."

"What? But they made the same bet as me! So why wouldn't I get..."

Cali rolled her eyes and stood up, not wanting to hear anymore about her and Wash's new sex life. She began to walk out of the cafeteria, and Wash quickly followed suit, ignoring whatever joke South yelled after them.

They made small conversation as they walked down the halls, and Wash grabbed her hand once they were closer to the rooms, where he knew they wouldn't get caught. Cali smiled and quickly kissed his cheek, ignoring the butterflies that fluttered in her stomach.

She never actually believed she would find someone she loved. She always thought she'd be alone, or that the relationships she'd be in would be like her parents'. But here she was, happy, in love, and holding someone's hand that still made her heart race even after a year of knowing him.

When they reached Cali's room, she invited him to come inside, only after making sure nobody was around. She could trust her fellow agents, but if someone else were to find out, the Director would know within minutes. Relationships were still forbidden on the Mother of Invention (which made no sense), but protocol is protocol.

Once safely inside the room, Wash immediately placed his lips on hers.

"Hm, eager are we?" Cali mumbled, but kissed him back just as hungrily.

They sat on her bed for a while, talking nonsense and occasionally kissing. Cali and Wash discussed more about Alpha, and even had a conversation with him.

"Yeah, sometimes this bitch doesn't shut up about you. Like we'll be on a mission shooting some guy's brains out and all of a sudden it's, 'I wonder what David's favorite band is?' Oh, it's Led Zeppelin by the way," Alpha said, nodding to Wash.

He nodded back, answering, "Yeah it is, but I never told you that?" He gave a questioning glance down at Cali, who gave a sheepish smile in return.

"Well she asked York who asked South, who then asked C.T., who asked you. Fucking weirdo."

Cali made him log off after that.

After Alpha logged off, Wash and Cali began discussing their plans for the future. She learned that Wash had entered the military out of high school, like she had. After getting really top marks on pretty much everything he did, he was recruited into Project Freelancer.

"Do you want kids?" Wash asked suddenly. "Like, when you get to retire and stuff?"

Cali frowned, pondering this. When would she retire? Did she want kids? She'd never really given it much thought before.

"Well, I'm only twenty three," she responded finally. "I don't think I'll be retiring for quite a while. But yeah, yeah I guess I do want kids. At least _a_ kid. You?"

Wash was silent for a moment also, before answering. "Yeah, I think so, too. I mean, I'm twenty-five, I'm in my prime," he joked, causing Cali to let loose a giggle.

"Could you imagine, like after all this, having little Davids and Lilies running around?" Cali asked, smiling at the thought. Sure, they'd only been officially dating for literally a day, but they'd had feelings much, much longer than that.

Wash chuckled, "Yeah, yeah I do. We'd be neighbors with Carolina and York. Our kids would play together."

Cali laughed also, imagining a little girl with brown hair and heterochromatic eyes running around.

"Auntie South and Uncle North would come over, bearing the greatest birthday presents of all time."

"I wouldn't be surprised if South got our kid a gun," Wash snorted, and they both erupted in laughter at how believable it sounded.

Once Cali's laughter died down, she began to feel a little sad, wondering if a future like that was even possible. Would all of them even live to retire? Their job was dangerous, and seemed to be getting more and more dangerous the longer they lived. Just how many of them would make it to see their future, to have families?

Cali thought about all her friends, about York, and Carolina. About North, South, Maine, Wyoming, Florida - all of them. Then she prayed really hard that all of them would get the happy ending they deserved. That her and Wash would get the happy ending they'd always wanted.

But of course, with her luck, that would most likely never happen.

* * *

The next afternoon found Cali rushing to Recovery. She had heard from North, who heard from some other long list of people, that Carolina was currently in a coma, much like the one she had just gotten out of days ago.

"She did _what_?"

North winced and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, Carolina's always been jealous of Tex. When she found out about her A.I., she demanded she had two assigned to her. They were supposed to be Wash's and South's, but the Director complied and now, well-"

Cali didn't hear whatever else he had to say, she simply ran off and towards Recovery. When she got their, she was very disappointed to find it empty.

"What-"

"You lookin' for 'Lina?" someone asked. Cali turned around and spotted 479er standing there, arms crossed and looking bored. Cali spotted a faded purple mark on her neck, but said nothing.

"Yeah, I though she was in a coma?"

"She was," 479er said and shook her head. "Woke up not 10 minutes ago. She demanded to have a fight against Tex."

" _What?_ " Cali exclaimed and immediately took off towards the training floor. By the time she got there, she was out of breath, but glad to find the fight hadn't started yet. They were both in their armor, getting ready. She spotted York walking off, assuming he had just attempted to talk Carolina out of it. She was about to do the same.

"Carolina, you can't seriously-"

"Agent California, the combat fight is about to begin, please enter or leave the floor," F.I.L.S.S.' voice interrupted her.

"Just give me a minute!" Cali shouted back. "Listen, Carolina, please don't do this. You just woke up, and you don't even know if your A.I.-"

"Are you saying I'm too _weak_ to fight her?" Carolina snapped, swiveling around to face her. Cali was suddenly glad that Carolina had her helmet on. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to stand the intense gaze in her green eyes.

"No! Well, sort of, I-"

F.I.L.S.S. interrupted her again. "Agent California, please enter the fight or leave."

"Phyllis, please, just one more-"

"Enter the fight, or leave," the ship's A.I. repeated.

"God fucking dammit," Cali mumbled. "Fine! Enter Agent California into the-"

"No!" both Carolina and Tex shouted, and she swore she could hear David from the viewing room way up there.

"Acknowledged. Agent California has now entered the fight."

Tex came rushing towards her first. "Cali, you don't even have armor on, you can't seriously be-"

"Round 1 begins in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Good luck, ladies."

I immediately stepped back as Carolina rushed towards Tex. Hey, I may have willingly entered this fight, but Tex was right, I didn't have my armor on.

I didn't need it though, because when Carolina took her first step, all hell broke loose.

"Allison!" a voice screamed in my ear, sounding mysteriously like the Director. I looked up to the viewing room before Alpha began wailing.

"Allison! Allison!" he repeated screamed, each one sounding more and more painful. I'd never experienced anything like this, it was like 50 voices were inside my mind right now, each screaming and shouting in such intense pain.

"Augh!" I screamed and covered my ears uselessly. What the fuck was happening?

I began seeing images. A face, a face that I'd seen a thousand times before started flashing across my eyes. It was her - Allison. Her smiling face, she was laughing, and then she was sad, and she was embarrassed, and everything as a million different pictures of her zoomed around.

The voices were still screeching painfully into my ears and I was on the floor, banging my head against it in a fetal attempt to stop the yelling.

I was screaming right along with them, with the Alpha, and the Director, and whoever else I heard.

"Allison!" I cried, as the images of her went from happy to dark. She was in pain, there were a few bloody pictures - was she dead? "AAGGHH! ALPHA STOOPP!" I screamed again, feeling the tears pouring down my face. How was I not deaf yet?

Out of nowhere, I was being rolled over onto my back, and I heard a brief, "Sorry," before the screaming stopped.

The images hadn't though.

Suddenly the faces changed into other people, faces I'd recognize anywhere.

It was my mother. And my father. And Charles. And Zoey, the closest friend I'd had, even though we weren't very close at all. They were all smiling and laughing, before the images changed and I saw them dead.

'Stop!' I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. I couldn't move, hear, or say anything. All I could do was watch all the people I'd ever cared about die. I couldn't even close my eyes (well, they were already closed).

Finally, the images stopped and faded into something else. It was a room, and there was a bed, and two people on that bed.

It was me and David, the other night. It was like I was outside of my body, reliving the moment.

"Are you sure?" David asked, voice almost sounding like an echo.

"Of course," I had replied, smiling at him.

He nodded, still slightly unsure of himself. "Okay. Hey, I-I love you. You know that right? I truly, truly love you."

"That's too bad, David Washington, I'm afraid I love you more."

He chuckled. His smile amazed me, it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. "Sucks. I love you most."

The word most echoed around my mind for a second before the memory shifted into something else. It was Wash again, except he was standing alone, and he was covered in blood. He looked like he was in a lot of pain, and he opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, a bullet flew through his forehead, and I couldn't even scream.

Suddenly, he was standing there again, except this time he was shot multiple times in the chest. Next, he had been stabbed right through the heart.

A thousand times this thing seemed to replay, David dying a different way in everyone.

I couldn't do anything, I couldn't try and stop it, I couldn't tell him to move, I couldn't even look away. I couldn't even feel anything. I just seemed to stand there, numb, watching the love my life get killed over, and over, and over again.

Yeah, what a happy ending.

* * *

 **A/N: Well. What an interesting chapter.**

 **Don't worry! This isn't the last chapter. There will be only one more, though. Two at the most. And yes. I'm very aware that it suddenly shifts into first person towards the end there, but by the time I realized it, it was too late. I was too lazy to go back and change it all. I also really like how it turned out. I mean, it had to show like what she was feeling and stuff so I guess it worked out. Hopefully that part isn't too confusing.**

 **Anyway, thank you guys so much! All the favs and follows and reviews I get is amazing and every time I get a notification I squeal and shake my hands and gAH! But seriously, thank you all so much. I never actually expected this story to get such positive feedback. I feel like this story got very confusing somehow but I really wish I made it clear.**

 **Okay, anyway, review n lemme know what you think please!**

 **~Saammmm :D**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Just so you're aware, it was like 3 in the morning when I wrote that last chapter. Currently 7 in the afternoon and I'm listening to emo music to write this chapter.**

* * *

When I was finally able to open my eyes, I was in a white room that looked extremely familiar. I looked around, spotting the Director, though his image was distorted. It seemed as if the entire room was moving, everything was blurry and I was seeing doubles.

I groaned, trying to touch my head, but soon realizing my arms were strapped to the table/bed I was lying on.

"What the hell.." I mumbled, really trying to figure out what the fuck just happened. Had all those people really died?

"Wh-what happened. Director, Alpha, please, anyone. _Tell me what happened_."

Alpha was floating next to me, panicking just as I was, though showing much more distress.

"No! No, what happened? Please, I just needed a little more time, tell me what-tell me what happened!" he demanded.

The Director stepped towards us and placed a sympathetic hand on my wrist. "I'm deeply sorry, we've lost two this time."

"What? No!" Alpha cried.

"Who?" I asked shakily, praying the images I had seen weren't real.

"Agent Washington, and Agent Texas," the Director finally answered.

" _No!_ " Alpha and I cried at the same time. How could I be so stupid? I had just gotten him and now I've lost him! I wasted all this time and now my carelessness- I just-no, why, why, _why?_

"No," Alpha sobbed. "I'm sorry, just a little more time please, I can-I can- just some more time, is all I need!" he begged.

I couldn't really focus on his voice though, I couldn't focus on anything but the feeling of my heart shattering into a million pieces. This was my fault, _all_ my fault. I'd had him, I had finally gotten what I wanted - and he was gone.

"Now, Counsellor!" the Director suddenly yelled.

I didn't know what happened next, but the pain I felt was nearly unbearable. I couldn't do anything but pull against my restraints, and scream through clenched teeth.

 _David. David, I'm so sorry,_ I thought, before the room went dark once more.

* * *

Waking up the second time wasn't as bad for Agent California. She was in a lot less physical pain, though the emotional pain was at an all time high. She didn't even know if she truly believed the Director, but just the thought of David's death was enough to make her want to scream.

So she did.

She screamed, and cried, and sobbed for as long as she could. She screamed until her body was numb, and her head pounded. Her eyes had shed their last tears and she just stared at the ceiling.

" _Hey Cali, I've gotta talk to you,"_ Alpha spoke in her mind, sounding tired and defeated.

"Hnm," she grunted in response.

"Listen," Alpha appeared, sitting on her abdomen. "I overheard a conversation between the Director and the Counsellor. Something happened with Wash."

Cali's eyes flickered to him, mouth opening slightly. "Is he...alive?" she croaked.

Alpha shrugged and looked down. "I'm not sure. But, well, the Director assigned him and A.I. - Epsilon. It...didn't work out really well and he practically went insane."

More tears swelled in Cali's eyes and Alpha felt a pang of sympathy for her. She'd gone through so much shit and didn't deserve this. Neither of them did.

"He- I don't know. But everybody - including Wash - thinks you're dead," Alpha explained.

"What?" Cali sat up a little and scrunched her eyebrows.

"Yeah um, well, you actually did, ya know, die."

"What the hell," Cali mumbled. "How can I die and not even know?"

Alpha shrugged again and shook his head. "I-I don't know? Something about too much strain; when Epsilon was created I was nearly destroyed, as were you. You're heart was stopped for a good 10 minutes."

Cali didn't say anything, she just slumped back on her bed and sighed. She attempted to rub her eyes, but her arms were still strapped down.

"Argh," she groaned. "Well what now? I have to go see David, I- they need to know that I'm okay. _I_ need to know that _he's_ okay."

Alpha nodded and stood up. "I understand, but, you can't do that."

Cali scowled. "Why not? Other...than the fact that I can't actually get up."

"The Director is planning on erasing your memory," Alpha said suddenly. "Which actually the original reason I came to speak to you."

"What the actual fu-!" she shouted but Alpha cut her off with an attempt to cover her mouth with his tiny hands. His arms went through her face instead, which worked just as effectively.

"Sh!" he whisper shouted. "I'm not supposed to be in here!"

"Well it's not like I'll _remember_ any of this anyway!" she whispered back.

Alpha groaned and rolled his eyes. "Okay listen. So, they're planning on taking me out of your head and then erasing your memory. Soo, while I'm still in here, I'm going to do everything I can to block it."

"Will that even work?"

"I'm not sure," Alpha admitted. "But we're going to try anyway, right?"

Cali shrugged, "Worth a shot."

"Okay," Alpha said. It was silent for a moment before he spoke up again. "So um, I think that this is it?"

"Uh yeah, I guess it is," Cali said, swallowing awkwardly.

It was quiet again, neither one knowing what to say.

"Um, Alpha, just - thank you. For everything. You were my first real friend, like ever, which is kind of sad. But you...still mean a lot to me, and I'm really going to miss you," Cali said, eyes watering once more. "You know, if I remember you."

Alpha nodded, "Yeah, m-me too. I've never really been good with this kind of stuff, but um, well, yeah. I'm not even sure if an A.I.'s feelings count but, you mean a lot to me too, Lily."

Cali smiled, the tears finally spilling over.

"What if it doesn't work? If I _do_ end up losing all my memories?"

"Um well," Alpha frowned, "I guess...I guess you'll get to move on and live the life you always wanted."

"Yeah," Cali muttered. _I love you, David._

"Still inside your head," Alpha teased, causing Cali to give a small smile. "But hey, if I see him, I'll definitely tell him that."

"Thanks."

They fell into a comfortable silence, until footsteps were heard approaching the door.

"Okay, uh, good luck?" Cali said, unsure. "Um, please work."

Alpha chuckled before disappearing. The door opened and the Director walked in, followed by the Counsellor and a few medics and doctors.

"Don't worry, Agent California," the Director spoke. "We're going to make this as painless for you as possible."

She ignored the rest of his speech, closing her eyes and putting all her focus on the memory of David smiling brightly at her.

' _Goodbye, Lily,'_ Alpha whispered.

Cali smiled to herself, ignoring the pinch in her arm from the needle.

 _Goodbye, Alpha._

* * *

 **A/N (again): okay that was really difficult to write? like my eyes are really watery and yeah my hEART.**

 **Anyway, this is it I guess. I wasn't really sure how to finish this and I'm gonna be completely honest with you guys, this was just me trying to hurry and finish this story so I can start the sequel.**

 **I really enjoyed writing this and I really hoped you guys liked reading it just as much.**

 **So, yes, I'm actually working on the sequel right now? I already have the first chapter done and it's like sort of what happened to Cali _after_ all this mess, but before her arrival at Blood Gulch. So that should be out soon.**

 **So, thank you guys so much again and just yeah, I don't really know. But please keep an eye out for the sequel! I'm not even 100% sure on the title yet but it will most likely have something like 'lily yang' or 'blues' or 'outpost alpha' in the name or something.**

 **Well I guess this is it now! Review, please (: and tell me how horrible this was really (cri).**

 _ **Goodbye.**_

 **(for now)**

 **~Saammmm ;-D**

 **AUGH HEY LOOK**

 **bc I forgot to mention this before I saved it...but remember that time I said I'd have a female oc for red team? Yes, it's true and if anyone wants to, they can submit and oc. Like name, armor color, appearance, if you want them to be in a relationship, etc. So do that yes please, thank you, you're welcome (sorry I just rewatched season 12 and I'm feeling very Felix-y right now)**

 **~Saammmm :-D (for real this time)**


	21. Author's Note and Thanks!

**Hello! Not an update haha, but I'm just here to tell you guys that the sequel is posted! It's got one chapter up so far, and I'm about to put up the second one as soon as I'm done with this A/N.**

 **Yes, I did an a female oc to the red team. She is Hispanic, and has some amount of sense. Hopefully you guys like her. I'm still not sure if I'm gonna have her in a relationship or anything, but you guys are free to leave suggestions! Like if you want her in a relationship, or if she should have any distinct qualities. Even stuff about her past, lol.**

 **Also, you're welcome to leave submissions for other OC's. I probably won't add them to the reds or blues, but you can leave another freelancer who comes along, or even someone from the chorus trilogy. Even another merc if you want, I'm open for suggestions.**

 **Thank you so much to all of you who read this story and favorited/followed/reviewed. It meant soo much to me and I really hope you like my next story as much as you did this one.**

 **See you guys over there!**

 **~Saammmm :-D**


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